May 2009

[UndergroundMan]

Currently reading "The Darkness that Comes Before" by R. Scott Bakker and "Le Morte d'Arthur" by Sir Thomas Malory. So far, I'm loving both of them, although "Le Morte" can be a bit ponderous at times.

[Guinevere Seaworth]

I finished The Last Unicorn by Peter Beagle. Once I got past my preconceptions of the novel, I enjoyed it. Up next is Byzantium by Stephen Lawhead.

[BookWyrm]

Currently reading "The Darkness that Comes Before" by R. Scott Bakker and "Le Morte d'Arthur" by Sir Thomas Malory. So far, I'm loving both of them, although "Le Morte" can be a bit ponderous at times.

I've had the same difficulties reading Le Morte D'Arthur. Malory was way too interested in the jousting and tournament results if you ask me. I've considered getting an abridged version. Is it even worth looking for one? :huh:

[Larry.]

You could read John Steinbeck's retelling of Mallory's tale...or what he managed to finish before he died.

[BookWyrm]

You could read John Steinbeck's retelling of Mallory's tale...or what he managed to finish before he died.

I'll find it next time I'm out at B&N. I didn't realize Steinbeck had any Arthurian stuff published. Thanks! :D

* Oh goodie! A forward by Paolini!

[Larry.]

It might be out of print, so it might be harder to find than just going into a store.

[Lord of Rhinos]

Steinbeck's book is awesome.

[Morcant]

Am reading Brand's Theodore Roosevelt biography TR: The Last Romantic. Am also about half of the way through Erickson's Gardens of the Moon, which I have liked so far but is starting to drag a little bit. On the deck are a choice from the books that I picked up at a used books sale, Follett's The Pillars of the Earth/b], Ludlum's The Bourne Identity, Crichton's Jurassic Park, Jones' The Barbed Coil, Hamilton's Pandora's Star, or the first in Mckiernan's Silver Call Duology (what can I say, he's my favorite fluff to read.)

[BookWyrm]

It might be out of print, so it might be harder to find than just going into a store.

No, I checked and it's in print now and available at Barnes & Noble Booksellers everywhere. :)

Currently reading "The Darkness that Comes Before" by R. Scott Bakker and "Le Morte d'Arthur" by Sir Thomas Malory. So far, I'm loving both of them, although "Le Morte" can be a bit ponderous at times.

Now I wonder what part of Le Morte you're at. You're post got me reading it again and after breaking through the extremely boring Roman/Arthur war, I burned straight through the Book of Lancelot (book VI) in one sitting. Perhaps there's hope yet for Malory.

[Bellis]

The Savage Detectives - Bolano. This was a long, slow haul... and not as nicely cohesive as 2666. If you loved 2666, and like me, are a completionist, don't feel bad about skimming the entire middle section. The short first and last sections are the best parts.

The Thirteenth Tale - Diane Setterfield. Thanks to Mash to pointing me to this sweet little gothic tale, not perfect literature, but a great airplane read.

[Procrastimancer]

Shriek: An Afterword by VanderMeer... still. Been reading it for the past two weeks and am still a ways from the end. A short book, but a slow go. I love the book though and look forward to the end... and reading more of Jeff's books after that.

[lokisnow]

The Merchant Princes books 1-5 by Charles Stross.

Never read anything by Stross before, but Mysterious Galaxy gave me the first book free when I bought Janis Ian's autobiography at the LA Times Festival of Books. Since then I've punched through the first five books. The books are very entertaining, page-turning reads, they are thought provoking, with interesting ideas, but not especially deep. Primarily they're more like a thrill a minute adventure serial, like a hollywood blockbuster series ala the Bourne movies. That's also the biggest problem with the book, is that they're inconsistently paced. You'll power through sections of exciting world changing events or breath held explorations of new worlds, then it will slow down to discuss stuff in more detail. Stuff that needs to be told to us, certainly, but it has breaks in it that feel tonally out of place. Stross gets better, though, by the fifth book, virtually all his ducks are lined up and he's beginning to knock them down, so it's the most well written and most consistent, fast paced story of the lot, with barely a break anywhere. He also doesn't stick with a limited number of perspectives and goes with the difficult method of having the reader know a whole lot more of the complex situation than any of the individual viewpoint characters do. This is at times quite confusing for the reader, because the viewpoint characters are sincere and reliable, but we know they are unreliable because they don't know enough. so sometimes you're frustrated and wanting to scream at the characters to 'don't do that!' ala a horror film, but it also adds to the realism of the piece. Dialogue is unspectacular, but the different mores and societies of Stross' worlds are distinct and well realized. The action is fast and furious and a whole lot of fun, I haven't plowed through a series this fast in years and years, probably not since high school. When the series is finished when the sixth book comes out next year, this'll be a good, between books read, since it's completed and enjoyable but doesn't require much from the reader except their attention.

The moral delimma brought about at the end of the third book and debated over in the fourth and fifth book over what Miriam's grandmother (and/or) mother have had done to her is particularly interesting. I was really disappointed that this was resolved in pretty much the same manner Stross resolved all the interesting delimmas in the series. Take it up to a cliffhanger, then when resuming that story thread, the delimma is already solved/overcome and quickly brushed aside with a somewhat brusque explanation about extraordinary circumstances.

It'll be interesting to see where the sixth book goes,

SPOILER: The Revolution Business

Stross has, by the end of the fifth book turned my sympathies. I don't want the United States government eradicating Gruinmarkt, but I don't particularly want the Clan to survive either. I'd like to see everyone except perhaps Mirriam wiped out. I'm pretty certain Miriam's mom is the most dangerous character in the series, so I'd especially like to see her dead. I definitely want to see the entire conservative faction exterminated, but pretty much all of the world walkers need to be eliminated. and since Mirriam decided to try to take the throne and keep the baby I'm pretty much rooting for her to fail, or at the very least lose the baby in the next book. She's just not a strong or savvy or interesting enough protagonist for me to really wish her complete success or to believe she can achieve it. She is still making the exact same mistake that got her fired in the first chapter of the first book--and since she never once seems to learn or grow from her experiences but continually acts like a spoiled brat who's mad she's not getting her way, my sympathies for her have waned, though she's still my favorite character in the series.

[oneeye]

I'm reading the time traveler's wife which is surprisingly good.

[mashiara]

I read Of Love and Shadows by Isabel Allende and loved it. I found it to be a very moving story, both tragic and joyfull. I thought it was beautifully written with very strong characterization, even the most minor character was very vivid. A brilliant book by an excellent story-teller.

I also read an interesting novel called Die Totenwascherin by Helga Hegewisch (I couldn't find the title in English). I'm not sure it qualifies as a historical novel but it was a good story spanning over four generarations. Death and love were the main themes, it seems to be what all my recent reads have been about.

I also finished The Republic of Love by Carol Shields. This was a gift by a dear friend and I'm surprised at how much it resonated with me. I found myself actively living the events through the characters and sharing their thoughts and wanting them to make the right decisions. Again, the main theme was love but it made me feel really melancholy at times. I also have this urge to start doing research on mermaids now. I really enjoyed it. :)

I'm currently reading No Dominion by Charlie Huston.

ETA: I meant to quote this and I forgot.

Bellis

The Thirteenth Tale - Diane Setterfield. Thanks to Mash to pointing me to this sweet little gothic tale, not perfect literature, but a great airplane read.

I'm glad you liked it. Thanks should go to Arbor Gold for pointing this out to me in the first place.

[Sis Who Swears]

Just started my second read of The Prince of Nothing series. Must say only 50 some pages in I am enjoying it much more this time around. The first time, the TDTCB was really hard to stick with and follow.

[Werthead]

Now reading Ash: A Secret History by Mary Gentle.

[Procrastimancer]

Just finished Shriek: An Afterword. When I started it I had my reservations, I doubted that I would even like a book written in its manner. A fictional biography, a tell-all. I enjoyed it though, my reservations and doubts were soon put to rest as I read on. It took me a while to read it, it ranks right up there with Valente's In the Night Garden and Lake's Trial of Flowers in that regard. I finally finished it though and I loved the book. At the very least the book was different. I look forward to reading more of Jeff's work and will be picking up City of Saints and Madmen as soon as possible.

Until then it is back to the stack for me. Think I will go for something a bit lighter, probably Storm Front by Jim Butcher.

[VikingBeard]

A Feast for Crows

[Deornoth]

Just finished reading Tony Ballantyne's 'Twisted Metal' where robots knock lumps out of each other but wonder if they're doing the right thing...

It's unbalanced in places (and very much a 'Book One' with some questions left unanswered) but is still a very entertaining read that made a rainy Bank Holiday Monday a bit more bearable. My full review is over Here. I'm now finishing off China Mieville's 'The City and The City' which is awesome...

[Annelise]

Just finished Huston's No Dominion. :thumbsup: On to Half the Blood of Brooklyn.