Eleven Eleven: November reads

[Tammy]

I'm still reading Elantris...hopefully by the end of the year I'll finish it.

[RobMRobM]

I've been on a bit of a roll. Finished Laura Hillenbrandt's Unbroken, her second book after Seabiscuit. Truly amazing story of survival of a young running champion (set US record in high school mile that lasted for 20 years; 7th in Olympic 5,000 meter run) who ends up in the air force and crash lands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with virtually no supplies - and that's only the start of his problems. Informative and enjoyable, especially as it describes war time life and culture.

Then followed up on a librarian's recommendation to read Peter Hamilton's two book Commonwealth series - about a multiworld human race linked by wormholes and with substantially enhanced life extending and skills enhancing technologies who run into big bad scary aliens - and some disruptions behind the lines. Enjoyable, multi-character space opera with some not quite realistic plot elements, but fun nonetheless. Anyone else like him? I've never even heard of him before.

Now reading Ernest Cline's Ready Player One - which looks from early chapters to be tons of fun, with a dystopian future, near-universal use of an online 3D world, and a multi-billionaire's Wonka-esque dying plan to give his fortune to anyone who can find carefully hidden Easter eggs in said online world.

For my son, I've also picked up the Ender's Game graphic novels, which are good but likely hard to follow if you weren't acquainted with the source material, and the first Eye of the World graphic novel - again, without knowing the books, query whether people can understand all of what's going on. Nice art in both cases, though.

Rob.

[SkynJay]

Reading The Hammer, by KJ Parker, last book of hers easily advailable to me. Want to read Fencer and Scavenger Trilogies, but mot in any library. Have to Amazon them at some point.

Finished The Braided Path, which was great. However, by the second book I realized I was reading cleverly disguised superhero novels. Still, a very good Trilogy.

[Scion of Valyria]

Christ. November already?

I'm on a reread of American Gods right now, (my fifth or sixth, honestly), and after that, I'll either read Holdstock's The Hollowing of his Mythago Cycle, or this spy novel that got turned into a movie coming out soon, which is supposed to be, like, the GREATEST spy novel ever. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy or something.

[RedEyedGhost]

Then followed up on a librarian's recommendation to read Peter Hamilton's two book Commonwealth series - about a multiworld human race linked by wormholes and with substantially enhanced life extending and skills enhancing technologies who run into big bad scary aliens - and some disruptions behind the lines. Enjoyable, multi-character space opera with some not quite realistic plot elements, but fun nonetheless. Anyone else like him? I've never even heard of him before.

:stunned:

He's one of the more heavily pimped sci-fi authors on this board. :P

[Astra]

Started House of Chains by Steven Erikson (The Malazan Book of the Fallen #4)

[Alexia]

I am starting Voyager, by Diana Gabaldon today. I really like this series so far, so it should be good.

[Cuchulain]

Finished Vernor Vinge's A Fire Upon the Deep. It was very different from what I'd expected, but I enjoyed it a lot. Too bad the new sequel, Children of the Sky, seems like crap.

[Spring Bass]

I finished Dune Messiah. It wasn't as enjoyable as Dune, but Children of Dune is much more interesting so far.

[RobMRobM]

Red Eye Ghost - could be that I've just never paid attention before. Interesting.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was very good when I read it back in the day, along with all of his other works. Will be a trip in the Wayback Machine to the heights/depths of the Cold War in you are a younger reader.

[Greywolf2375]

Starting the Dresden Files series. Just finished the first one - very entertaining and have heard raves from my friends about it.

Middle of a reread of LOTR - seen the movies so many times I had forgotten some of the scenes that had been left out.

Also visiting Belgarion again. Bout time to see old friends. :)

[Contrarius]

I've been reading Carol Berg's Rai-Kirah trilogy. Stupid name, but for the most part I'm enjoying the trilogy very much. This is the first time I've read Berg. IMHO she's very much like Hobb in her emotiveness, though not quite so wordy. ;) I could wish for more polished prose, but it's a good story with good characters.

[Eponine]

I think I posted maybe once in October - I've barely been reading due to classes, work and personal issues.

I think in October, I had just finished KJ Parker's The Belly of the Bow. I'm greatly disappointed - I was really enjoying the first book of the series, but I've reached complete apathy about what happens to the characters or the plot. I also tried to start Fevre Dream and haven't been able to get past the first chapter - the combination of these has derailed my book recommendation list project. Eventually I'll push myself to finish.

Then I read East of Eden, and I had a hard time reading anything else for a while after that, because of the person who told me to read it. Personal shit. Didn't keep the book from being incredible.

And just now, I've finished up Michal Ajvaz's The Golden Age - beautiful and intriguing and complex and rather pretentious. There were really only a few instances of what I found pretentious, although the entire book is written in a somewhat difficult style, but I've discovered that I HATE, fucking hate, hate as much as any crap that I've ever read in any book, when a word is defined in a fictitious language as something stupidly flowery. "... where we say formless they used a word whose literal meaning is “the dance of demons and animals in the early morning and evening.”" GOD I HATE THAT SHIT! Actually, it was the only thing that bothered me in an otherwise surreal account.

Now I've barely started several books, and they're all still books that I want to read, but none of them are pulling me in right now - it's not really a matter of the book not being gripping because I haven't gotten past the first chapter in any of them and most of them seem like they'll be worth reading eventually. I'm just not in the right mindset for any of them - I'm a chapter or so into The Quantum Thief, Suttree, and Daniel Yergin's The Prize, but I'm going to keep looking for something that I can really get into right now.

[nickg]

Suttree is amazing. But so is everything else he writes.

[Calibandar]

I've been on a bit of a roll. Finished Laura Hillenbrandt's Unbroken, her second book after Seabiscuit. Truly amazing story of survival of a young running champion (set US record in high school mile that lasted for 20 years; 7th in Olympic 5,000 meter run) who ends up in the air force and crash lands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with virtually no supplies - and that's only the start of his problems. Informative and enjoyable, especially as it describes war time life and culture.

I keep reading such great reviews of this book. I've got more than enough non-fiction top last me years though, but I still think I should pick this up. The other recent war book that seems to get such universal acclaim is Matterhorn.

[nickg]

I keep reading such great reviews of this book. I've got more than enough non-fiction top last me years though, but I still think I should pick this up. The other recent war book that seems to get such universal acclaim is Matterhorn.

You should definitely read Matterhorn.

[williamjm]

Then followed up on a librarian's recommendation to read Peter Hamilton's two book Commonwealth series - about a multiworld human race linked by wormholes and with substantially enhanced life extending and skills enhancing technologies who run into big bad scary aliens - and some disruptions behind the lines. Enjoyable, multi-character space opera with some not quite realistic plot elements, but fun nonetheless. Anyone else like him? I've never even heard of him before.

I've read almost all his novels (seemingly universally poor reviews have put me off reading Misspent Youth). The sequel series to the Commonwealth books, the Void trilogy is good as well, although a little bit mixed - I really liked the Void-set part of the storyline but felt the Commonwealth-set part wasn't as good as in the original Commonwealth books.

[Knight of Ashes]

Close to halfway with Heroes by Joe Abercrombie. Love it!

[The Winged Wolf Bran Stark]

Still going through The Darkness That Comes Before, and it's been rather enjoyable. Been so busy with college that I haven't had much reading time. Hope I can finish the trilogy by the end of November. Might take a bit of a break before I start the Aspect-Emperor trilogy.

[Spring Bass]

I'm halfway through Children of Dune. If this book (or at least the first Dune book) wasn't a huge inspiration for Bakker, I'll eat my shirt. Even the prose sounds really similar in many ways.