August 2014 reads

[Guinevere Seaworth]

I finished The River at the Center of the World by Simon Winchester. I really liked it as it was just not a travelogue up the Yangtze River, but also personal encounters with the peoples and cultures along the river. The history that he covered was something I'm not familiar with, WWII and General Mao and the Cultural Revolution.

Up next is Shadows Return, the fourth book in the Nightrunner series by Lynn Flewelling.

[Toblakai]

Finished Esslemont's Orb, Sceptre, Throne. Now I am reading some of Rogues before I dive into more Malazan (Dust of Dreams and the Crippled God). I will probably read half of Rogues now, and half after (before Blood & Bone and Assail).

I need these short story palette cleansers during this massive Malazan read.

So far I have read Abercrombie's short story. Not much point to it, but enormously entertaining. I love his style and dark humor.

[First of My Name]

Finished Iron Dawn, which was a fun read.

I couldn't decide whether to read Skeleton Crew or Apocalypse next, so I started both.

[williamjm]

Definetely going to return to Bujold when I have the time and finish the Paladin of Souls series. I did all the Vorkosigan stuff upto Miles Errant so I think I am fairly up to date with those, maybe a few to read.

It looks like Mirror Dance is the last book in that omnibus, so there should be 6 later books you've not read.

I'm reading The Reality Dysfunction, it's good so far, but there are some things that bother me. The setting is really interesting, the bitek/Adamist/Edenist concepts are all things I want to know more about, but I hate most parts that include sexy, sexy Joshua.

Unfortunately, Hamilton does like to include a lot of gratuitous sex scenes despite the fact he isn't particularly good at writing them.

[dbcooper]

Anyone enjoying an epic fantasy series right now? I could use a rec. Been through most of the long established, major ones (WoT/Malazan/ASOIAF/etc) and am in the mood for a well written high-magic/epic fantasy series.

[farseer2]

Finished Hospital Station, by James White, the first book in the Sector General series. It's a fix-up of five short stories set in a huge galactic hospital, where patients from many alien races are treated. The staff is also composed of professionals from many alien species.

Because of this series, James White is sometimes regarded as the father of medical science fiction. Although he is no Nobel Prize material, he seems to be a competent writer who knows how to craft an entertaining story. Since it's episodic, this book feels like a TV show, joining medical plot elements with some character work.

The stories are pleasant enough, with a pacifist undercurrent. The author abhors wars, and here the antagonists are normal illnesses, mental disorders and accidents. This is a nice change of pace, but also can be a limitation, because the stories end up feeling a bit similar. White imagines many interesting alien species, but paradoxically he doesn't have a background in medical or biological sciences, and it shows: more than problems of exobiology, we tend to get panicked patients going on a rampage through the hospital (the security there seems to be awful, by the way).

A successful medical TV show relies heavily on the interaction between main characters (doctors, normally). We have some of that here, but I feel the series would benefit from much more emphasis on characters.

It's also a bit dated (the stories were written in the last part of the 50s). As far as human professionals go, the doctors tend to be male and the nurses female.

The working style within the hospital is rather weird. On difficult cases one would expect a lot of teamwork, with interdisciplinary teams. Instead we get a doctor in charge doing more or less as he pleases.

All in all, an interesting sample of a seldom-seen subgenre, but I had the impression that it had potential to be better.

[ByTor]

I've been stuck on page 130 of The Hobbit for about two weeks now. Can't bring myself to continue. I'm just never going to be a Tolkein guy.

[Lyanna Stark]

ByTor, is that really you? 0.o

[Leofric]

Reread the Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny (The Great Book of Amber which includes all 10 books). Have read the Corwin books multiple times, but really only read the Merlin books once before when they first came out.

Burned through Half a King by Joe Aberrombie in one night. Really enjoyed it.

Reading The Deaths of Tao by Wesley Chu, the follow up to The Lives of Tao. Liking it so far, though would love if he threw humanity a bone and let at least one important historical figure not be a Quasing host.

Next up is The Widow's House by Daniel Abraham.

[bloodsteel bitterraven]

Not literature, but I finally started reading Thomas Piketty's "Capital in the 21st century". Brilliant so far.

[mgage]

I'm reading Assail, which was just released a few weeks ago and the newest book in the Malazan Book of the Fallen Universe. This one isn't as snappy as some of the other works written by Esslemont, but I'm really interested in finding out more about the Forkrul Assail so that keeps me going.

Next up will be Haruki Murakami's new book, The Colorless something (can't remember the full title).

[Paxter]

Just finished GRRM's Fevre Dream, and I'm sad to be done with it. It was a fantastic read, featuring vintage Martin prose (complete with lots of lavish food descriptions!), memorable characters and a great concept. The main antagonist actually reminded me a lot of the Others.

Now reading Rohinton Mistry's A Fine Balance, which has been excellent so far.

[Biter]

I going to try some Wodehouse, so today I plan to begin reading Thank You, Jeeves.

[Deedles]

Now reading Rohinton Mistry's A Fine Balance, which has been excellent so far.

Love that book. It's beautiful and tragic.

[Guinevere Seaworth]

Shadows Return by Lynn Flewelling was meh. Not much of a plot. I will continue with this series, but without much urgency.

I feel like a good historical fiction so The Tailor's Girl by Fiona McIntosh is up next. I have really liked her other historical fiction books, so I have high hopes.

[mgambino]

I have been slogging through the Lensman series by E.E. "Doc" Smith. If not for its historical significance, I would have abandoned it after Galactic Patrol.

[farseer2]

Finished The Science Fiction Hall of Fame: Volume 1. An anthology with the stories voted by the members of the SFWA (Science Fiction Writers of America) as the best SF short stories before the start of the Nebula Awards (up to 1964). Only short stories allowed (no novellas) and only one story allowed per author gets published.

The result is a delightful anthology, filled with strong classic SF stories. Some of them are mind-blowing masterpieces. Others feel a bit dated (we are talking about really old stories here) but still have something special that would make professional writers vote for them as some of the best stories in the genre: powerful ideas, emotional impact...

If you have any interest in the history of science fiction then this is as close to required reading as it gets. Even if you don't particularly care about the history of the genre this anthology is too good to miss.

[Nicomo Cosca]

Finished The Iron King by Maurice Druon the other day and I LOVED it! Looking forward to read the next one ASAP!

Now reading Assassins Apprentice by Robin Hobb for the first time, and I must say, it DOES live up to its hype. Loving this book alot and looking forward to keep reading it! Just finished chapter 4 and I can see myself obsesing over this book

[Garett Hornwood]

Finished The Hallowed Hunt, a good solid story in the Chalion/Quintarian Universe. Personally I would put it a notch below both Curse and Paladin, but considering I gave both those 5-stars and Hunt a 4 isn't really bashing the book. I wish Bujold would return to the universe, I've heard speculation that books for both the Father and the Mother were thought to be in queue, but Bujold has stated she's done with that world (period or for the foreseeable future). Whether Bujold is finished with this series or not, I need to read more of her stuff in the future...after a lot of the 100+ books on my TBR pile are taken care of.

Starting Band of Giants by Jack Kelly, it is a look at lesser known heroes/generals in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. Got an advanced copy via LT Early Reviewers.

Year-long readings update:

The Bible: Today I finished the last 7 chapters of Revelations to complete my first read through of the entire Bible in 227 days.

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare: Finished Othello and I can see why Iago is considered one of the best villains written by the Bard, just fantastic. I'm currently through King Lear Act IV Scene V.

[JSC5]

In the midst of Gaiman's Ocean at the End of the Lane. Not bad so far, but depending on the ending I don't think I'll think as highly of it as the reviewers.

Before that I finished Dune. I enjoyed it, but not to the point of feeling compelled to read the others in the series.