July 2011 Reading thread

[Starkess]

Alright, A Clash of Kings is finished. Starting A Storm of Swords now--forgot that this starts with a Jamie POV. Bah, you bastard!

Now I'm hooked like a drug addict.

Now I'm waiting for both AFFC and ADwD to arrive.

:cheers: Welcome to the AA (ASOIAF Anonymous, of course)!

While I was waiting I just finished Watership Down by Richard Adams.

One of my favorites. :)

[RedEyedGhost]

I'm also on a quest for more solar system spanning space opera. (I am not liking Leviathan Wakes though, but I am hoping to be proven wrong in the last 200 pages!!)

You might try Up Against It by M.J. Locke. I haven't read it, but it's has been a big hit around the SFF blogosphere (and my opinion might not matter too much even if I had read it, because I loved Leviathan Wakes:P)

[mashiara]

Hey, I just read that! It's Junot Diaz, by the way. As a nerd and loner I could identify quite a bit with Oscar and so I liked the book.

Thanks for the correction. Careless typing on my part.

I read this one a couple of months ago as a little sidetrack from my Time 100 project. In an interview a couple of years ago, the critics who made that list both agreed that Oscar Wao would make the list if it was updated, so I figured I would read it.

I really enjoyed it, although I wondered how much I would have liked it if it wasn't tickling the nerd vanity so much. I am surprised the book won such a mainstream prize as the Pulitzer considering how infused it is with the nerdiness. Of course, I did like that part. The narrative isn't pandering to nerds. It's a story being told by a nerd. I was impressed.

Not being able to pick one main character is actually one of the things I ultimately liked about it. Both Oscar and Yunior are the main character. Oscar is a more interesting character because we see him through another person's eyes, and there is a journey made as the story is told by Yunior as well. And both of these guys are more interesting characters when contrasted with the other. Plus, Yunior's voice is distinct and I thought it was just plain fun to be in the guy's head.

Oh, don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the book a lot, just not as much as I thought I would. I found all the characters interesting, each on his/her own way.

I made quick work of Silver Borne. Fun book. Patricia Briggs is probably one of the best writers in the werewolf/vampire/supernatural sub-genre out there. I'm now reading Feed by Mira Grant.

[aschwiig]

I've just finished Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go, which was a very good read. I really enjoyed the way the horror of the main theme was slowly revealed, and contrasted with a familiar coming of age story and a kind of stereotyped setting of the boarding school. I suspect this one will stay with me, and get a reread before too long. I wonder if the film adaption is any good?

I've also read Zoran Zivkovic' The Library, which is a slim collection of six short stories. All the stories seem inspired by Borges' The Library of Babel, and have all manner of fantasticly odd libraries and books at their core. The final story has a nice, self-referential twist. This was my second Zivkovic, and I will definitely continue my discovery of him. I can't read him in the original though, so have to read him in translation. This one was in Danish, which was easy enough to read, although, the punctuation, seemed a bit, odd. :)

I've not decided yet what to read until 07/12. I might go for something decidedly non-fantastic and maybe even non-fiction, to sort of clear the palate.

[Contrarius]

I'm now working on the first Rivers of London book, by Aaronovitch. I'm quite amused by it so far. ;)

[Maester Joergensen]

I've also read Zoran Zivkovic' The Library, which is a slim collection of six short stories. All the stories seem inspired by Borges' The Library of Babel, and have all manner of fantasticly odd libraries and books at their core. The final story has a nice, self-referential twist. This was my second Zivkovic, and I will definitely continue my discovery of him. I can't read him in the original though, so have to read him in translation. This one was in Danish, which was easy enough to read, although, the punctuation, seemed a bit, odd. :)

I really liked "the library" too. I read the danish translation as well. It was a couple years back. I was preparing for Eurocon in Copenhagen, where Zivkovic was GoH. His reading at the con was great. Easily the highlight of a disappointing convention. I seem ro remeber it really was a clever little book, though I seem to have forgotten most of it.

I am reading Canticle at the moment, the second book in the Psalms of Isaak, and I am enjoying the hell out of all the intrigue. The first book was good, and you thought you had things figured out. But wow do things take off in the second book, and makes you question everything you thought you knew. About half way through and really enjoying the uncertainty and theory making. Really hopes it all come to a sensical conclusion. Atleast at the end of the series.

But I forgot Canticle in my office at the university, which is driving me crazy. I am trying to distract my mind by reading other books, but it doesn´t really work. After finishing Canticle, and whatever book I use to distract myself over the weekend, I hope I can squeeze in a quick reread of aFfC, before madness breaks out on the 12th.

[aschwiig]

I really liked "the library" too. I read the danish translation as well. It was a couple years back. I was preparing for Eurocon in Copenhagen, where Zivkovic was GoH. His reading at the con was great. Easily the highlight of a disappointing convention. I seem ro remeber it really was a clever little book, though I seem to have forgotten most of it.

Nice. Do you recall what he read? It is a clever book, but I don't feel that it became too impressed with its own cleverness, the way they sometimes do.

[Larry.]

Here is what I'm currently alternating between:

Gail Carriger, Heartless (released this week)

Nnedi Okorafor, Akata Witch (released back in April)

Douglas Perry, The Girls of Murder City: Fame, Lust, and the Beautiful Killers Who Inspired Chicago (paperback version comes out later in July)

Brandon Sanderson, The Alloy of Law (ARC arrived today; street release on November 8, 2011)

Clifford Simak, City (Gollancz SF Masterworks edition released back in June)

Catherynne M. Valente, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making (edited book edition appeared in late May)

Drew Magary, The Postmortal (ARC of book coming out in September from Penguin)

Jonathan Wood, No Hero (comes out this month)

Blake Butler, There is No Year (came out in April)

Ransom Riggs, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (came out in June, reading it on my iPhone)

Genevieve Valentine Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti (Came out in April; Kindle edition is $4.95, by the way)

S.J. Watson, Before I Go to Sleep (June release; reading on iPhone)

To Read Later This Month:

George R.R. Martin, A Dance of Dragons

Lev Grossman, The Magician King (review copy should arrive next week)

[Whitestripe]

I'm anxious to read the new Lev Grossman book, although I was of mixed minds about his first one. Something grabbed me about it, even if I wasn't 100% satisfied with it.

I just read Gaiman's The Graveyard Bookand I really, really liked it. Prior to that I'd read others that Gaiman had written and was completely underwhelmed.

And although I'm not sure if it qualifies, I am listening to The Odyssey (Robert Fagles translation, read by Ian McKellan. It's fan-fscking-tastic. I really struggled reading both that and The Iliad, but the audio books are amazing.

I am also reading, at Ormond's suggestion, As Meat Loves Salt. I like it very much so far, but I am only at the beginning.

[RedEyedGhost]

I am reading Canticle at the moment, the second book in the Psalms of Isaak, and I am enjoying the hell out of all the intrigue. The first book was good, and you thought you had things figured out. But wow do things take off in the second book, and makes you question everything you thought you knew. About half way through and really enjoying the uncertainty and theory making. Really hopes it all come to a sensical conclusion. Atleast at the end of the series.

But I forgot Canticle in my office at the university, which is driving me crazy. I am trying to distract my mind by reading other books, but it doesn´t really work. After finishing Canticle, and whatever book I use to distract myself over the weekend, I hope I can squeeze in a quick reread of aFfC, before madness breaks out on the 12th.

I liked Antiphon even more than Canticle. I was really hoping Requiem would be out this year, but I can't find anything about it on the net.

[Grack21]

I liked Antiphon even more than Canticle. I was really hoping Requiem would be out this year, but I can't find anything about it on the net.

I want to read those, but I heard the third one keeps getting hideously pushed back. I don't need more series that will never get finished. :(

[TheEvilKing]

Finished Hidden Cities last night, the last in Daniel Fox's Books of Stone and Water trilogy. Very similar to the previous two books in stregths and weaknesses. Tremendous prose and mostly well-written and interesting characters, plot is probably the weak point though. The ending was a little unsatisfying but the final chapter left plenty of room for a sequel.

Also currently reading The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas.

Will probably read some GRRM next in anticipation of ADWD. I've got about half of Dreamsongs unread, plus The Sword Sword.

[RedEyedGhost]

I want to read those, but I heard the third one keeps getting hideously pushed back. I don't need more series that will never get finished. :(

The third book is already out, and it sounds like he started on the forth book in November 2009. He's definitely had some craziness in writing the books, and hopefully nothing else has happened that would have set him back (especially when he was able to work through all that's happened so far).

First, congratulations on the birth of your twin daughters! And now that I have that information out there, a related question. Since they were born you have continued to work on the Psalms of Isaak. How difficult is this, and do your trials as a parent of two newborns work their way into your writing?

Ken Scholes: Thank you–it’s been an amazing (and sometimes daunting) experience.

Fact is, so far, the Psalms of Isaak have been written through an inordinate amount of difficulty. The first book, Lamentation, was written in the midst of providing oversight for my Mom’s ailing health. Canticle was interrupted midway by my Mom’s death, followed closely on the heels by my nephew’s death in Afghanistan. Then, Antiphon had a similar interruption when I paused to grieve my Dad’s passing. So, all in all, the project has experienced a goodly dose of trials.

When Lizzy and Rachel were born (after a challenging pregnancy for Jen), I was within 1,500 words of finishing the first draft of Antiphon. The timing seems to have worked out in that while my editor at Tor, Beth Meacham, went over the manuscript I was adjusting to three hour feedings and diaper surprises. It gave me a month or so for us to get our feet under us. But I’m pleased to say that when it came time to revise, I really didn’t find it any more difficult than before the babies. The biggest difference was that sometimes, I had a baby cuddled up on my chest while I stretched out on the couch with my laptop. I turned the book in just last week and will start Requiem at the end of November after I’ve caught up on interviews and rested up from my book tour with the Amazing Kate Elliott.

The jury’s still out on how the drafting process will go, but I’m optimistic.

[Grack21]

The third book is already out, and it sounds like he started on the forth book in November 2009. He's definitely had some craziness in writing the books, and hopefully nothing else has happened that would have set him back (especially when he was able to work through all that's happened so far).

Ackm!

[Paxter]

I'm about halfway through King's Wizard and Glass, hoping to have it finished by the time ADWD is released.

[Larry.]

Although I re-read it several weeks ago, I finally got around to posting my review of Joanna Russ' The Female Man. It's still a powerful novel after 36 years, but its strident tone might be a bit dated in the third-wave world. Still, I found it to be a provocative, attention-grabbing read that I enjoyed, even when I was wincing a bit.

[Ormond]

Here is what I'm currently alternating between:

Gail Carriger, Heartless (released this week)

Nnedi Okorafor, Akata Witch (released back in April)

Douglas Perry, The Girls of Murder City: Fame, Lust, and the Beautiful Killers Who Inspired Chicago (paperback version comes out later in July)

Brandon Sanderson, The Alloy of Law (ARC arrived today; street release on November 8, 2011)

Clifford Simak, City (Gollancz SF Masterworks edition released back in June)

Catherynne M. Valente, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making (edited book edition appeared in late May)

Drew Magary, The Postmortal (ARC of book coming out in September from Penguin)

Jonathan Wood, No Hero (comes out this month)

Blake Butler, There is No Year (came out in April)

Ransom Riggs, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (came out in June, reading it on my iPhone)

Genevieve Valentine Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti (Came out in April; Kindle edition is $4.95, by the way)

S.J. Watson, Before I Go to Sleep (June release; reading on iPhone)

Are you really "alternating" between twelve different books?

I can't see myself being able to effectively keep up with that many different storylines at the same time. It would get way too confusing. Three or four would be as many as I could manage. I don't see how one can really enjoy reading if they're jumping back and forth between so many in the same week.

[Datepalm]

Are you really "alternating" between twelve different books?

I can't see myself being able to effectively keep up with that many different storylines at the same time. It would get way too confusing. Three or four would be as many as I could manage. I don't see how one can really enjoy reading if they're jumping back and forth between so many in the same week.

I do it, and I can get up to twelve if I count non-fiction, but 12 is about the amount i'd get through in 6-8 weeks or so ;). I blame an early habit of reading during class, constantly getting books confiscated for a few days by teachers as punishment, and so learning how to be immersed in several simultanously. I've got no problem picking up where I was even a month or two after putting a book down,

Currenly reading Mechanique, as per Larry's post - about half way through, and its really not what I was expecting, I thought it would be more of a fun steampunk romp, but not so much - usually the stylistic flourishes she's using would annoy me*, but theres a dark, kaleidescopic quality here that I really like.

Its short and fast, and i'm probably going to finish it before getting back to alternating between slogging/skimming through the rest of Tigana, a low-concentration re-read of To Say Nothing of the Dog and Foucaults Pendulum, which will go back to being 'the book i'm really reading' after Mechanique, and reading a chapter or two a day of The Vertigo Years: Europe 1900-1914, and a short story a day from the Apex Book of World SF, and occassionally a bit of Spaces of Hope, a marxist analysis of globalization, when i'm a thinky sort of mood.

At some point in between all that i'll probably finish Two-Bit Heroes, by Doris Egan, and replace the Vertigo Years, once I finish it, with The Geography of Nowhere, in the 'light non-fic' slot, (on american suburbanization) which i'm about on the third chapter of, and i'm still reading a tiny bit of Jasper Kent's Twelve once or twice a week. (Theres a few other books i'm some significant way through that if I pick up again, it will be where I left of, but i'm probably going to finish all these off first. OTOH, i'll probably start a few others before that happens too. Hopefully ADWD, for one.)

*I think I say this about most books that aren't, like, a linear, naturalist 3rd person, and I still enjoy plenty of them. Maybe its time to admit I do like well-done stylistic flourishes :rolleyes:

[Larry.]

Are you really "alternating" between twelve different books?

I can't see myself being able to effectively keep up with that many different storylines at the same time. It would get way too confusing. Three or four would be as many as I could manage. I don't see how one can really enjoy reading if they're jumping back and forth between so many in the same week.

Yes, I'm capable of it, just as I was capable of finishing five books yesterday. I usually read at least 50 (and often 100-150) page segments of books that often are between 220-450 pages long. If I choose to, I might read 1500 pages or so in a day, sometimes up to 2500 if I want to read about 6-8 hours in a day.

For the record, here are the books finished:

Brandon Sanderson, The Alloy of Law - his strongest volume since the first Mistborn book. It was a quick, fun read of just over 320 pages. Probably won't write the review until late October.

Gail Carriger, Heartless - Around 375 pages, this fourth installment in her series was the strongest since her first. Style and plot similar to the others. Review later this month.

Nnedi Okorafor, Akata Witch - Around 350 pages. YA book set in Nigeria and features Igbo juju being taught to an albino Nigerian-American girl before a magical murder-mystery is presented. Entertaining story. Might review this later.

Clifford Simak, City - Barely 240 pages in the Gollancz SF Masterworks edition. Fix-up novel of eight short stories. Uneven in quality. More to say on this later when I review it.

Rikki Ducornet, Netsuke - E-book edition (print is around 130 pages, I believe). Added to my list after I typed this once I saw a post on it over on Jeff VanderMeer's blog. Surreal prose. Very good.

Nearly 100 pages into Blake Butler's There is No Year, or roughly 25%. This is some good stuff, at least so far.

Around 50 pages into the Valente, Watson, Riggs, Magary and only the first chapter or so for the Wood, Perry, and Valentine, but I plan on finishing at least the Valente, Watson, and Riggs today, possibly the Valentine and Perry.

Lots of enjoyable reads ahead...and yes, I do tend to enjoy what I read. I'm just capable of reading faster than most people, that's all.

[Deedles]

After a fortnight of not really enjoying reading, Georgette Heyer has.pulled me out of my slump. I read and very much enjoyed her "A lady of quality ". So much so that I immediately went and bought another four. I know I got "A civil contract " and 'the Corinthians". I can't remember the others. Hopefully. They'll be a nice surprise. I'm currently. Continuing my slog. Through Michael. Faber 's "The Crimson Petal and the White" I'm not really enjoying it, but am determined to finish. I think "A clash of Kings " will be my lunchtime read this week..