November Reading Thread

[add-on]

Oops, forgot to add what I'm on to now.

Reading A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh and a bunch of poetry for classes. I'm really enjoying Waugh's style and breezing right through that book. The poetry (some British and some American stuff from 1900-50) is also going really well.

Also re-reading Joyce's Portrait and Jean Rhys's Voyage in the Dark for separate papers.

Outside of class, I'm reading Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises and Robert Browning's The Book and the Ring. I can't get enough of Hemingway lately, and even though the size of The Book is daunting, Browning's energy is captivating.

[Talyn]

I just read Stealing Light by Gary Gibson. I found it to be a really good first book, the beginning was a bit patchy but it got a lot better near to the end. I'm looking forward to seeing what else he is going to write.

[Mr. X]

Today I started into The Last Coin by James P. Blaylock. The premise is that someone is collecting the 30 pieces of silver that Judas Iscariot took as payment for his betrayal of Jesus, and finding the last one is going to involve the happenings at a house in California where a couple are trying to start a bed & breakfast. Blaylock seems to be fond of writing annoying, self-deluded fuckwits, as that characterizes one of the central characters reasonably well. I go back and forth with the book -- one minute the main character is annoying the hell out of me, the next minute Blaylock is spinning a wonderful bit of prose about supernatural happenings. We shall see how it plays out.

[H von T]

I started No Country for Old Men today. I've read about 50 pages and am totally hooked. I'll probably stay up all night and finish it. I haven't seen the movie yet, but I'm sure I will this weekend.

[Jhogo's Evil Twin]

i finally scored a copy of world without end by follet. i hope it is at least as good as pillers of the earth.

[Isis]

Reading A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh and a bunch of poetry for classes. I'm really enjoying Waugh's style and breezing right through that book.

I've loved Waugh ever since I had to read Decline and Fall at school. Vile Bodies is probably my fave, but it varies...

I've just started Dark Alchemy - Magical Tales from Masters of Modern Fantasy. Any collection featuring Liz Hand, Tanith Lee, Jane Yolen and Neil Gaiman has to be good, right?

[Vintertroll]

Edit: Double post.

[Vintertroll]

This month I've read two books (Haiene & Jonas) by norwegian author Jens Bjorneboe, whom I truly love with all my heart. Also read The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie, and an extremely stupid book that we had to read during school by a norwegian author no one has ever heard of. Now I'm reading Windhaven by our beloved GRRM & Lisa Tuttle, which is kind of cozy and not as near as laim as I feared it would be.

[Peadar]

Just finished Metallic Love by Tanith Lee, sequel to the extraordinary Silver Metal Lover. I enjoyed it, but it won't be taking a place beside its predecessor in my all time top ten.

Next up, Richard Morgan's Black Man.

[beniowa]

Finished The Bonehunters by Steven Erikson. It was a bit better than Midnight Tides and at least it it seemed to be more relevant. Glad to see a bunch of familiar characters back as well. The story almost seemed too big for the book but I like that the pace and action is picking up a bit. Full review here.

I think I'm going to read The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski next.

[Ruby]

I'm reading

Windhaven by GRRM and Lisa Tuttle

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Shape Changer's Song by Jennifer Roberson

To America by Stephen Ambrose.

Granted Huck Finn, and To America are all for school, I'm enjoying them all any ways (between the little flags and highlights and theme searching)

[Deaf Dick]

I'm in the middle of Operation Jedburgh, by Colin Bevan. So far, it's not a bad read. It's covering the guerrilla warfare in France during WWII (as outlined by Operation Jedburgh) and how it contributed to Operation Overlord and beyond. I don't know if this will delve into the creation of the CIA, as the author mentions that his grandfather was Glenn Miller, who along with Will Colby (a Jedburgh operator) would later be instrumental in establishing the CIA, but it's a decent read so far.

[Deornoth]

Finally got round to posting my review of Jennifer Rardin's 'Another One Bites the Dust', a cross between James Bond and 'Blade'. It's a great read for the train into work but, for me, doesn't stand up to a lot more than just a casual read. I felt like I was being spoon fed a lot of detail when I'm actually quite able to work stuff out for myself! Not a bad read but one where you have to be in the right mood for it.

I'm now finishing off Karen Miller's 'The Awakened Mage' (not as good as 'The Innocent Mage') and then it's back to 'A sword from Red Ice'. I've also been reading Jason Kruse's 'The World of Quest', very funny stuff if you're feeling a little childish...

[pat5150]

Just finished reading Jack Whyte's Knights of the Black and White.

I've been fascinated with the Knights Templar and their demise ever since watching a documentary on their order during my early teenage years. There is something about the Knights Templar that really captures one's imagination. As a matter of course, I read Holy Blood, Holy Grail, which then led me to order various related works such as The New Knighthood and The Trial of the Templars. Hence, long before The Da Vinci Code introduced them to mainstream readers, I was already intrigued by the mystery and mysticism shrouding the Order of the Temple. It was thus with great eagerness that I read Jack Whyte's first Templar novel.

Knights of the Black and White recounts the beginnings of the order. It's a tale about those nine penniless men who dug for years into the bowels of the Holy City of Jerusalem, and unearthed a treasure which allowed them to become the most influential force in Christendom for more than two centuries.

Knights of the Black and White is an interesting blend of historical data and good storytelling. Anyone who has ever shown any interest in the Knights Templar should be pleased with the tale. Others might not find this book as appealing, however. . .

What I found the most distracting was the author's tendency to switch from one POV character to the next in the same sequence, without even a break in the scene to signal a POV change.

The characterization is an aspect that leaves a little to be desired in some instances, and that was disappointing.

As the opening chapter of a saga chronicling the birth and future destruction of an organization whose secrets echo down the centuries to tantalize us even today, Knights of the Black and White remains an entertaining read.

Check out the blog for the full review.

Patrick

[Bellis]

I just finished The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz. If you're looking for something different, or are just a fan of latin/latin american lit, you should definately pick this one up. The history of the Dominican Republic and a particularly cursed Dominican-American family are wound together with references to classics of SFF literature, comics, gaming. When the dictator of a banana republic and his cronies are repeately compared to Sauron, you know you're reading something special. The title character, a grossly obese brown-skinned geek, is one of the more memorable i've read recently.

[Larry.]

A Latino Fortress of Solitude? I've been meaning to get this for a while. I'll probably just add it to the list of books for Christmas gifts.

[Calibandar]

Just read the first 100 pages of The Stormcaller and I'm struggling to continue. I like epic Fantasy but not when it is this poor. There's a very superficial sheen to this world. There is an excessive amount of magic, completely unexplained, which I always dislike, makes it feel like a D&D campaign. There are characters in there which are really designed to be " cool" on a superficial level but then Lloyd will try and give them " depth" by uncharacteristic interior monologues. I don't think I'll finish this book.

Not on par with recent epic debuts from Lynch, Abercrombie, Rothfuss or Ruckley. Not at all.

[Thrashalla]

I just finished the Tawny Man Trilogy by Robin Hobb.

Review here: http://thrashkreator.livejournal.com/5541.html

...I have no clue where I'm going to go from here; probably going to take a break and research some new authors, or finally finish Gardens of the Moon and give Erikson a second shot.

[Deornoth]

Just finished reading Karen Miller's 'The Awakened Mage', the concluding part of her 'Kingmaker, Kingbreaker' duology. If you're a fan then I reckon you'll enjoy this but I found it to be full of padding that made the ending seem rushed and tacked on. I also had issues with 'prophecy' being used as a means to get certain characters out of trouble... My full review is over Here.

I'm now back into 'A Sword from Red Ice' but am also picking up Caitlin Kiernan's 'Beowulf' as well.

[Larry.]

You know, I'm sad that I didn't get the secret decoder ring like the rest of you here have received...or not I'll get around to getting the first Abercrombie for Christmas and then go from there.

I can understand the issue with Rothfuss, although my initial read was a good one. The second Lynch just was too much of the same for me to care half as much, so I'm wary of any of these "brat pack" books, if you know what I mean