Larry. Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 Again, here's the place to list planned reads, short reviews/commentaries on books you've read or that others have queried about, and even a few mimed interpretative dances regarding books if you feel so inclined. Here are my planned reads: Nick Mamatas, Under My Roof Joe Abercrombie, The Blade Itself Sylvia Kelso, Amberlight Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu, The Shadow Speaker Michael Cisco, The San Beneficio Canon George R.R. Martin (ed.), Wild Cards: Inside Straight Elizabeth Bear, Blood and Iron And either Jack Vance or Ursula Le Guin books for a focused read/review time on the OF Blog. And probably some Spanish-language books and other goodies I'll doubtless receive in the mail in the coming month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thrashalla Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 I'll be bringing in the New Year (it's 11:29 PST as I type this) at work, with my nose buried in a copy of Erikson's Gardens of the Moon (second attempt at it and going much better than the first, which was back in May) I have the following waiting for me in the landlord's office (package drop off) that I'll hopefully be able to grab tomorrow: The Pale Horseman by Bernard Cornwell Shaman's Crossing by Robin Hobb Chronicles of the Black Company by Glen Cook Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie ...all but Shaman's Crossing should be read by the end of the month if I maintain my current schedule. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sio Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 ...all but Shaman's Crossing should be read by the end of the month if I maintain my current schedule. I hope you have better luck than I did with that book. My planned reads: Across the Face of the World - Russell Kirkpatrick War of the Flowers - Tad Williams Xenocide - Orson Scott Card Children of the Mind - Orson Scott Card Red Prophet - Orson Scott Card I can't believe no one told me about Orson Scott Card before now - I read his work for the first time two weeks ago Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arbor Gold Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 I am so late to the party, but I'm reading The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett and I absolutely love it. Many thanks to Oprah for making my best friend and resident book-referral guru Brooke read it...she sent me a text message saying "This book is fucking fantastic. Go buy it immediately." I trust her recs blindly, and I have never been let down. I rarely get excited about books early on, but I have to say I'm only 45 pages in and I am looking forward to ~950 more pages of awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneeye Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 I'm continuing my reread #1 of ASIOAF, good stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gigei Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 Just finished the Tawny Man trilogy by Robin Hobb. Good stuff but read the first Assasin books first. I loved the ending, it was really good to see what happened to the characters from the first trilogy. I am now torn between starting Erikson's Malazan or Baker's Prince of Nothing trilogy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saint777 Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 Just finished the Tawny Man trilogy by Robin Hobb. Good stuff but read the first Assasin books first. I loved the ending, it was really good to see what happened to the characters from the first trilogy. I am now torn between starting Erikson's Malazan or Baker's Prince of Nothing trilogy. I don't think you can go wrong with either series. The last couple hundred pages of Tawny Man are great. I really miss The Fool. Still reading: The Blade Itself: Kick ass start and already love Glokta and Logen. Winterbirth: I'm getting a Martin/Bakker vibe with this book which bodes very well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Wedge Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 Still reading: The Blade Itself: Kick ass start and already love Glokta and Logen. I'm right there with you. About 70 pages in and loving it so far. I like self-effacing characters with easy to remember names, apparently. Winterbirth: I'm getting a Martin/Bakker vibe with this book which bodes very well. It was too bleak and humorless for me right now, just as Bakker felt. I abandoned 100 pages in. The unfamiliar naming conventions didn't help, just as with Bakker. I'm a wimp when it comes to complicated names that don't sound familiar when I say them out loud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bellis Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 I whizzed through The Gunslinger yesterday afternoon, in less than an hour. Lyrical stuff (never thought I'd say that about Stephen King). I'm hoping to read the rest of The Dark Tower in the next month or so. Also on tap for the next couple months and into the spring: continuing with Proust's In Search of Lost Time, at the rate of one book per month World Without End and possibly a re-read of Pillars of the Earth (which I read about 15 years ago) Several standalones by David Mitchell, Murakami, David Foster Wallace, and maybe The Divinity Student I'm also debating rushing out and buying Pirate Freedom instead of waiting for my library to acquire it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duchess of malfi Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 My last two fantasy reads of 2007 were The Blade Itself which was a lot of fun, and which I loved. I am now a major Glotka fangirl! So funny! And Winterbirth, which after a bit of a slow start turned into a very nice military fantasy with Scottish and Native American influences. I enjoyed it a lot, too. First up in 2008 is Tobias Buckell's Ragamuffin ~ I loved Chrsytal Rain and am looking forward to this one - great science fiction with an Afro-Carribean accent. after that: I am finally going to get around to reading Lies of Locke Lamorra and Name of the Wind. The Abercrombie and Ruckley both lived up to their positive press; hope these two do as well. Interspersed between the fantasy novels will, as usual, be some short mystery novels, as they are easy to stick on my purse and carry to work to read on my breaks. Sadly, many fantasy novels these days are much too large to easily carry around in a purse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mexal Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 I am so late to the party, but I'm reading The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett and I absolutely love it. Many thanks to Oprah for making my best friend and resident book-referral guru Brooke read it...she sent me a text message saying "This book is fucking fantastic. Go buy it immediately." I trust her recs blindly, and I have never been let down. I rarely get excited about books early on, but I have to say I'm only 45 pages in and I am looking forward to ~950 more pages of awesome. I bought it cause of recommendations on this board. I haven't read it yet though. It's next on my list. I'm reading Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield. I'm only about 80 pages into it but enjoying it immensely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plessiez Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 Hmm. Let's see... Definitely planning to read: China Miéville - Looking For Jake (and other stories) Steph Swainston - The Year Of Our War Italo Calvino - Invisible Cities A couple of books I don't have to hand yet, but hope to read this month if they arrive soon: K. J. Bishop - The Etched City Caytherynne M. Valente - The Labyrinth Also got some books left over from last year that need to be finished, namely: Mikhail Bulgakov - The Master and Margarita (was pretty close to finishing a couple of weeks ago, but got distracted by other things) Susanna Clarke - Jonathon Strange & Mr. Norrell (a couple of hundred pages in now - vaguely toying with the idea of leaving this for later and then starting from the beginning again though ) M. John Harrison - Light (to be honest, I've barely started, but as it's a library book I'm hoping to finish it soon) Finally, a couple of books I've been sitting on for a while and really want to read or get rid of in the near future. Vernor Vinge - Rainbows End (must have got this on or before Christmas 2006 - don't think I made it past the second chapter, but I've enjoyed Vinge's other work enough to give this a second try) C. J. Cherryh - Cyteen (can't remember when I bought this, though I suspect it's been sitting around unread for a couple of years now) How many of these I'll actually get around to reading in January I don't know; chances are I'll read a few things that aren't on this list (been keeping an eye out for a copy of Hal Duncan's Ink for a while, and that would definitely jump up the list if I found it). Anything unfinished should hopefully get pushed onto next month's list (but I suspect might drop down to the less formal "have another look at it in a year's time, maybe" list instead ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. X Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 I finished off the old year with Margo Lanagan's White Time, a fine collection of short stories. Up next is Daniel Abraham's A Betrayal In Winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fastia Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 I've also just started The Blade Itself, and although I'm less than 100 pages in, I'm really enjoying the characters and the sardonic humor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophelia Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 I'm going to try and read fewer books at once, having eleven on the go feels a little excessive, and my memory isn't good enough to keep up with that many at the pace I read (usually about 10 minutes before I go to bed, but I would like to increase that because... I miss reading). So I need to finish up some of: Books in progress Orhan Pamuk - My Name is Red (because of its unusual style and imagery it's a nice one to dip into, but I prefer alternate it with other books) James Stoddard - The High House (a novel for children, the blurb made me curious to read it, but obviously not curious enough to do so very fast ) Steven Erikson - Gardens of the Moon (I got a fair way through and then decided to start again at the beginning, but not being a great lover of rereading, I stalled) Cormac McCarthy - Blood Meridian (compulsive and...bloody...) R. Scott Bakker - The Thousandfold Thought (stalled on this one, started to get overload, but I really want to get it finished so I can step back and decide what I think) Neal Stephenson - Quicksilver (really enjoyed this to start with but had enough about two thirds of the way through, but again want to finish it to see if that changes things. Every couple of pages I find things that make me laugh, but the overall impression has become one of endless verbiage) M. J. Harrison - Viriconium (one of those books which is to be treasured for its imagery, so I'm happy going slow, and there isn't a driving need to 'finish' something which seems kind of 'timeless') Hal Duncan - Vellum (curious to see what this is made of, but I haven't got 'hooked' yet) Chaz Brenchley - Feast of the King's Shadow (second book of the Outremer series - beautifully written but long - I got distracted and lost my place) I also started but have decided to abandon: Manda Scott - Boudicca I'm not taken with the 'historical with added mysticism' type of story. An impressive authentic-sounding richly described setting but just 'not my thing'. Sharon Penman - The Sunne in Spendour Another historical one, but I just couldn't get into it. I'll try and articulate this in another thread, when I do some book giveaways again, I think. Then I have a huge pile of books I bought mainly on recommendations from people on this board. If anyone would like to give me suggestions for where to start on this pile, I would be interested. I'd currently like to read books which aren't too depressing, but are nicely written and thought-provoking in terms of character or theme, or open my mind to new ways to write fantasy. I'd like to be able to distinguish which ones would make better 'weekend books' which need to be read at a slower pace for appreciation, and could be more dense and slow-moving, and 'weekday books' which I can read after a tiring day at work in smaller sections: these need to flow more quickly and easily, and not be too much of a burden on the memory. Books waiting to be read I loved Perdido Street Station (my personal best book of 2007), so: China Mieville - The Scar China Mieville - Iron Council Also: GRRM - Rretrospective Ian Banks - Use of weapons Ursula LeGuin - Left Hand of Darkness John Crowley - Little Big Lord Dunsanay - The Charwoman's Shadow Gibson - The Difference Engine Murakami - Kafka on the Shore Tom Arden - The Harlequin's Dance Lafferty - Past Master Goethe - Faust (translated into English) Steph Swainston - Year of Our War Jack Vance - Tales of the Dying Earth Scott Lynch - Red Seas under Red Skies ETA: missed three (keep finding more unread books around the house) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dornish prince Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 i am breaking in the new year with jeff lindsay's "darkly dreaming dexter"...pretty good shit, so far, but palahniuk does minimalist much better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawrence Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 Let' see, what I am planning to read in January. Usually it read about one book a week, but this week I will be able to read a bit more, so I think I will read about 5 efforts this month: Last Wish - Andrzej Sapkowski (140 pages in, will finish it tomorrow I think) Felix Gilman - Thunderer (will read it as soon as it arrives) Black Man - Richard Morgan (some late 2007 reading) The Thousandfold Thought - R. Scott Bakker (so I can finally discuss in a the spoiler threads) and maybe Philips Palmer's Debatable Space or Michael Swanwick's The Iron Dragon Daughter. Edit: Oh crap, I totally forgot Shadowbrigde and the Wild Cards novel will be published this month. I will pick up that sweetness too, asap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry. Posted January 1, 2008 Author Share Posted January 1, 2008 I just finished reading Nick Mamatas's Under My Roof. It's one of those dark humor/satirical type of novels, dealing in large part with the paranoia that rose higher in the US after 9/11. It's certainly one of those books that one will love/loathe in part due to one's political beliefs - Leftists and Marxists in particular will chuckle at some of Mamatas's lines. I might write a full review of this later, but I have others to write first, not to mention more books to read while I still (slowly) recover from a bronchial/sinus infection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Thursday Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 Books for January (and beyond if I don't get through them all): Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay Broken Skin by Stuart MacBride Crystal Rain by Tobias Buckell River of Gods by Ian MacDonald Brasyl by Ian MacDonald Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson Sir Thursday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Warpechowski Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 I´m reading Consider Phlebas by Iain Banks but I´m seriously considering droping it. It is almost as bad as Goodkind, the diference being that it is in space. There is a lot of interesting ideas but they are portrayed quite badly, and the story sucks quite a bit. I guess Ill end it just for the sake of finishing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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