September 2010 reads

[Arlingzen Bill]

Brandon Sanderson - Way of Kings (about a fifth through after starting last night; I think that Sanderson's skills with prose and characterization have, for the most part, improved immeasurably with this one.)

That is kind of deceptive as a fifth of the way is 200 pages...

Been reading the David Sherman and Dan Cragg Starfist series...

[The Evil Hat]

That is kind of deceptive as a fifth of the way is 200 pages...

How does that make it deceptive?

[TheEvilKing]

How does that make it deceptive?

Because you're a massive liar.

Looking forward to reading more reviews and opinions of The Way of Kings as there are a few. I think I'll wait for mmpb before I pick it up though.

[Mexal]

Finished Matterhorn and loved it. Brilliant look into life as a combat Marine during the Vietnam war. Highly recommended!

I'm reading a crime novel I picked up at the local shop when I finished Matterhorn. It's Roadside Crosses by Jeffery Deaver. Seems pretty standard fare so far though I do generally like Deaver so am expecting a twist or two later down the road.

[Harlot]

Manhood for Amateurs by Michael Chabon

[WickerMan]

Currently reading Stephen King's Wizard And Glass and Cormac McCarthy's The Road. Early days for both of them, but McCarthy's isn't doing much for me so far.

I loved Wizard and Glass, second-most favorite of the series (after The Gunslinger)and my friend keeps telling me to read The Road or lend me a copy, but never does.

And to think, I got him a copy of GOT for his birthday a few months back...

[Arlingzen Bill]

How does that make it deceptive?

When the old standard was 300 pages even most door stoppers are only 500 pages... Way of kings was about 1000 pages. So fifth of the way through a 300 page novel is 60 pages, vs 100 pages or the actual 200 pages... the deceptiveness is in the readers comprehension of how many pages you've actually read. Of course saying you were 200 pages into Way of Kings leads to a similar disconnect because 1000 pages is not a standard length.

[Arlingzen Bill]

Looking forward to reading more reviews and opinions of The Way of Kings as there are a few. I think I'll wait for mmpb before I pick it up though.

It was a good book. I went through it as fast as I could with work getting in the way, it even reduced my computer time at home since I read more at night.

My favorite character was not one of the main three POVs. I looked forward to every tidbit that came out about the assasin. Some of the main characters take time to develop but the three mains are pretty good by the end.

[Trencher]

Because you're a massive liar.

Looking forward to reading more reviews and opinions of The Way of Kings as there are a few. I think I'll wait for mmpb before I pick it up though.

I am debating getting the hard cover of Way of Kings since people are saying how nice it is. I hear there is artwork throughout. Is it in color?

Anyway I am 50 pages into Bakker's Thousandfold Thought and liking it. Some parts are pretty dry, but it's interesting. I don't think he's striving for true epicness as you only really get a few characters that come to life. Not sure if I will be interested in the 2nd trilogy. Maybe when it's finished.

[The Evil Hat]

The inner artwork is not in color, but it is quite nice, and I'm enjoying its inclusion.

[Switchback]

yeah, this (way of kings) may be one of those you want in hard cover, or at least trade pb. i think the mass market may lose a lot of the richness of the artwork, which I'm really enjoying. though i understand a lot of people don't care about that shit, but i eat it up....

[Deedles]

I've almost finished my rereading of the Vorkosigan saga by Lois McMaster Bujold since I started in mid July. I tore through these. All that's left is Falling free, which I guess isn't technically part of the saga. Fabulous! Loved each and every one of them. Did cry a few times - Aral's speech on honour in A Civil Campaign, the immediate aftermath of the Soltoxin assault in Barrayar among other places. I want Cryoburn now dammit.

Breezed through the Book of Lost Things by John Connolly. I did enjoy the tales within the book, and did enjoy the book, but somehow, it all felt a little meh. Perhaps I just wasn't in the right place for it.

Currently reading Snobs by Julian Fellowes. Such precise English. It's a very engaging romp. About half way through it.

Hmm, what next. Anathem, Falling Free, The sad tale of the Brothers Grossbart, or something entirely different. We shall see!

[Sheep the Evicted]

Finished Flowers for Algernon today. I needed something to read to get to sleep and it ended up keeping me up instead - not that i'm complaining.

I will continue to read the Quran some point in the future. I have a real problem finishing a book that doesn't have a plot. But like i said before its surprisingly readable.

Also picked up Savages today and like 20 pages in and i think i'm really gonna enjoy this one.

[Deedles]

double post. Sorry

[williamjm]

I finished Ian McDonald's The Dervish House. I liked it, although possibly I preferred McDonald's previous two books River of Gods and Brasyl - not that there's anything wrong with The Dervish House, but it isn't quite as ambitious as the other two. It did take a while to really get into it, which is a common issue with books which have large numbers of viewpoint characters, but the plot was interesting once it got going and the ending worked well. As in his previous books McDonald does a good job of portraying a foreign culture, although I'm curious how authentic his portrayal of Istanbul is - it seems convincing to me but I've never been to Turkey.

I'm currently reading H.G. Wells' The Invisible Man, so far it seems more whimsical than I'd been expecting.

[Kese]

Longtime lurker from Finland, my first post...

Finished The Passage, great, but not in The Stand league (yet).

Currently reading Blade Itself, wich seems quite popular here.

Next one is probably Steel Remains or Way of The Kings. Steel Remains seems to divide readers, i haven't yet read anything from Richard K. Morgan.

My non-fiction reading currently is Jon Krakauer's Where Men Win Glory.

[Arbor Gold]

Welcome, Markus! Happy to have you posting. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on The Blade Itself.

I go through phases where I read a lot or I read nothing, and I feel like I am finally in a pretty intense reading phase. I love it! I've read three books in the last two weeks, so although not technically all from August, I will post them here.

Finished Shadow's Son by Jon Sprunk. A very quick and easy assassin tale. Not groundbreaking or particularly original, but a good read with memorable characters.

Read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins in about 5 hours (that's fast for me). I'm glad I didn't read the back of the book, so I didn't really know what the story was about as I headed in. Loved it. Perfectly paced, fantastic characters - I'm looking forward to reading the next two books.

Also read This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper, based on Ini's rec from his book club thread. I loved this book, even though I feel like I've seen this movie before. I kept trying to cast the movie in my head, and since I suck at casting I could only come up with Paul Rudd who is totally wrong for the main character but I think his name was stuck in my head because two characters are named Paul and Judd. I found this book to be funny, witty, insightful, and a tad depressing, but reeking with truth about life and relationships. Also, I found the snti-smoking propaganda slightly annoying. :)

Next up is Catching Fire, the second book in The Hunger Games trilogy. I have Mockingjay on deck. Thanks to Stego for starting the Mockingjay thread, otherwise I would have never found these books. :thumbsup:

[delete this account pls]

I'm a third of the way into The Good German by Joseph Kanon, about a reporter investigating the strange death of an American soldier in post-war 1945 Berlin. On the one hand, the portrayal of post-war Berlin as this awful, almost post-apocalyptic landscape is fascinating. There's a lot going on, themes of with guilt and shame, and and underlying question; can an entire people can be held to account and made to suffer for crimes committed in their nation's name? On the other hand, the actual plot, concerning the black-market related murder of an American soldier and the subsequent investigation is far less interesting so far.

Also read This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper, based on Ini's rec from his book club thread. I loved this book, even though I feel like I've seen this movie before. I kept trying to cast the movie in my head, and since I suck at casting I could only come up with Paul Rudd who is totally wrong for the main character but I think his name was stuck in my head because two characters are named Paul and Judd. I found this book to be funny, witty, insightful, and a tad depressing, but reeking with truth about life and relationships. Also, I found the snti-smoking propaganda slightly annoying. :)

Hmmmm. I was going to check this out as well. Would the anti smoking thing annoy me even more, do you think?

[mashiara]

I finished my reread of Daniel Abraham's The Long Price Quartet. That is, I reread the first three books and I found them as I great as I remembered, and then I read The Price of Spring for the first time and I thought it was a brilliant ending to the series. It was absolutely worth the wait and it didn't disappoint me at all. This is one of my favorite series. I'm glad I decided to reread before getting to the last volume, this way I had all the details fresh in my mind. I love -love!- the way he writes his characters. Nobody is perfect and nobody is 100% good or bad, people change and at the same time people tend to repeat the mistakes of the past or get blinded by their desires and their hopes. They felt very real to me, I read the last book in less than a day, I just didn't want to put it down.

I think next up is going to be Nation by Terry Pratchett.

Read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins in about 5 hours (that's fast for me). I'm glad I didn't read the back of the book, so I didn't really know what the story was about as I headed in. Loved it. Perfectly paced, fantastic characters - I'm looking forward to reading the next two books.

Next up is Catching Fire, the second book in The Hunger Games trilogy. I have Mockingjay on deck. Thanks to Stego for starting the Mockingjay thread, otherwise I would have never found these books. :thumbsup:

It seems everyone is talking about The Hunger Games, I finally broke down and ordered it this morning.

[Arbor Gold]

I was going to check this out as well. Would the anti smoking thing annoy me even more, do you think?

I don't think so. It's literally three individual sentences scattered throughout the book, so it isn't like it is a barrage or anything. It just seemed a bit jarring.