September 2010 reads

[Bellis]

I re-read Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections. I'd recently come across a copy at a garage sale. It was still good, very fluently written and engrossing, though at times he seems unsure about how much he means as satire and how much is realistic. I think this author does deserve to sit at the table with Phil Roth and DeLillo and I'm looking forward to picking up the much-hyped Freedom.

Connie Willis' Blackout is a breezy quick read. As many have pointed out, it does read like an opening novel. Not much of consequence happens until the last couple hundred pages, but it really does end on a cliffhanger! Worth it for fans of her time-travelling historians.

[RobMRobM]

I just finished reading Herman Melville's Bartleby. Pretty interesting stuff. Apparently it was a response to Moby Dick not selling well.

Melville - :commie: Enemy of Capitalism!

Coming up: Tim O'brien's The Things They Carried and Joey Comeau's Overqualified.

Loved The Things They Carried. Tied for my favorite Vietnam era book with Sheehan's Bright Shining Lie (itself a brilliant nonfiction work about the staff officer (John Paul Vann) who educated the press corp re how to read misleading body count info disseminated early in the war but who had his own personal demons to surmount).

Rob

[BookWyrm]

Loved The Things They Carried. Tied for my favorite Vietnam era book with Sheehan's Bright Shining Lie (itself a brilliant nonfiction work about the staff officer (John Paul Vann) who educated the press corp re how to read misleading body count info disseminated early in the war but who had his own personal demons to surmount).

Rob

I'm really looking forward to it. Hopefully the vast amount of papers I'm writing/other books I'm reading won't detract my attention and ruin the read - it is after all another required class book.

[oneeye]

I picked up an old forgotten realms book, last mythal book 1, it seems a bit better than the average rather crappy FR novel.

[beniowa]

I read The Iron Wars and The Second Empire in Paul Kearney's omnibus, Century of the Soldier. Great stuff.

I've been in a bit of a funk lately so I'm going to take a break to read Blonde Bombshell by Tom Holt.

[Cuchulain]

While I was watching the movie Sherlock Holmes a few days ago, I realized I hadn't yet read any of Arthur Conan Doyle's original stories. So I decided to read the first two Sherlock Holmes novels: A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of the Four. I'm glad I finally tried these, as they were very entertaining.

[Jodan]

The Left Hand of God by Paul Newman

Robert Peel: A Biography by Douglas Hurd

[Tormund Ukrainesbane]

Finally got around to reading Suicide Kings (Wild Cards Novel), somewhat of a let down compared to the last two.

Currently reading Ysabel by GGK, next up is The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacialkdjfoewasdjlkfjsomethingortheother

[beniowa]

next up is The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacialkdjfoewasdjlkfjsomethingortheother

:lol:

The way I remember is to pronounce each vowel in his name. Works pretty well for me. :P

[Matrim Fox Cauthon]

Pride & Prejudice. I must say that I am finding the book to possess a remarkable charm. I am unashamedly loving this book.

[sparky]

I've been in a bit of a funk lately so I'm going to take a break to read Blonde Bombshell by Tom Holt.

I'm actually reading Blonde Bombshell now, having just discovered Holt thanks to all the KJ Parker rumors. I'm disinclined to believe he's Parker if for no other reason than he's got a metric ton of material under his own name. Anyway, I think it would be easy to dismiss BB as fluff, but that does a disservice to how clever Holt is and how much detail he packs into a story that, on the surface, is over-the-top silly. The guy is nothing if not smart.

[Guinevere Seaworth]

I'm just a few chapters from finishing Brendan by Morgan Llywelyn. I've read a number of her historical fiction and I don't think this is one of her stronger novels. Grania IMHO is the best to date.

Up next is either The Illiad (Robert Fagels translated version) or The Mark of Ran by Paul Kearney.

[IheartTesla]

I just finished Dan Simmon's Olympos. To paraphrase one of his own characters, " What solipsistic nonsense. What metaphysical garbage. What total horse manure".

Apart from the overall crappiness of the book, I've observed certain...patterns in his writing that are greatly annoying. I don't recommend this book at all.

Next up, Albert Hourani's History of the Arab peoples. I can tell it will be a bit tough going like I find most hstorical books.

[kcf]

I finished up How to Live Safely in a Sceince Fictional Universe by Charles Yu last night. I liked it - it's clever and itneresting. Also very literary, so I'm not sure how others will react. (full review)

[Deedles]

Last finished "Hawkwood and the Kings", the first Paul Kearney omnibus. I enjoyed it, though not as much as some on the board. I think I just didn't engage with the characters on an emotional level, while I did greatly enjoy the machinations -both exposed and hinted at. I have the second omnibus "Century of the Soldier" but I'm in no rush to get to it.

I also blew through "Shades of Milk and Honey" by Mary Robinette Kowal. A very quick read, but I did think the story was, well, slight. Very much a novel of manners with a slightly modern sensibility. I wouldn't get the next novel in hardback unless I heard very good things about it.

About 80 pages into "I shall wear Midnight" by Pterry and it's a strong opening. I hope that this is a return to his mastery.

I'm also reading "Retribution Falls" by Chris Wooding as my at work read. Very reminiscent of Firefly but none the less I'm enjoying it. The characters are engaging, and each seems to have a mystery that I'm eager to find out about.

I've also been flicking through the stories in "Black Thorn, White Rose". I'm a bit meh about them really.

[palin99999]

Finished:

Kill Your Friends by John Niven - 7.5/10 - Very reminiscent of the movie

American Psycho

Now reading:

Apathy and Other Small Victories by Paul Neilan

[RobMRobM]

While I was watching the movie Sherlock Holmes a few days ago, I realized I hadn't yet read any of Arthur Conan Doyle's original stories. So I decided to read the first two Sherlock Holmes novels: A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of the Four. I'm glad I finally tried these, as they were very entertaining.

Read the other two - Valley of Fear and Hound of the Baskervilles. These latter two are my favorites in order, followed by SoF and SiS.

[RobMRobM]

Pride & Prejudice. I must say that I am finding the book to possess a remarkable charm. I am unashamedly loving this book.

Pride and Prejudice is a top 10 all-time novel for me. Lots of fun. I also like Persuasion quite a bit. Rob

[Bellis]

Thanks to Brady and Raidne, I picked up Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes. Now, war novels with nary a female character in site are definitely not my thing, but this book is indeed very well done.

[Cuchulain]

Read the other two - Valley of Fear and Hound of the Baskervilles. These latter two are my favorites in order, followed by SoF and SiS.

As I wanted to continue reading the Sherlock Holmes stories in order of publication, I finished the first two short story collections: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. I intend to get to the other novels and short story collections in the future, but I've decided to take a break from Holmes for now, as it's becoming too much of the same (though I've enjoyed the stories immensely so far).