August Reads

[Lummel]

...I'm 1/4 into the The Devil's Queen: A Novel of Catherine d'Medici by Jeanne Kalogridis. I've been watching The Borgias season 1 (I know I'm late to the game) and I suddenly have an interest to know more of the Renaissance in Italy. Really enjoying the book so far.

Perhaps not the best choice if you want a book set in renaissance Italy. ;)

[Deedles]

Recovering from a migraine so I took the day off work and have managed to finish up not 2, but 3 books that I'd been most of the way through.

Poison by Sara Poole was, well, ok. I'd pick up the sequels if there is a sale but no particular need to finish them. I just didn't feel there was much depth to any of the characters and I could see where the likely plot was going.

Guards, Guards by Terry Practchett. I think one of the weaker of the Watch books. Still enjoyable though.

Devices and Desires by PD James. A competent, well plotted detective story. I like Adam Dalgliesh but no more than once a year really. Small doses are required. Still, I found it a lot better than Pemberly which was the last one I read from James.

Perhaps I will move on to finishing The Shining Court by Michelle West. I picked this one up after reading the first 2, perhaps 4 years ago. They seem like the sort of books I should like, and there are good qualities to them, I'm just not captivated by them. I like the Dominion Storyline a lot more than I like Jewel's. Perhaps I just amn't up for high fantasy much anymore.

Hmmm, where to go next. I'm really not sure. Too many choices

[deleted01]

Started The Whores' Asylum by Katy Darby last night. Not sure what to make of it yet, seems pretty interesting though.

[3CityApache]

Guards, Guards by Terry Practchett. I think one of the weaker of the Watch books. Still enjoyable though.

Definitely the weakest one IMO, but simply because it was the first one. Practically in all Discworld cycles first novels are worst. PTerry was just warming up writing them. :)

[wolverine]

Finished Fellowship, almost done with The Two Towers. Amazing to me that I have read these books dozens of times and still can get completely captivated by them. I know that they're not everyone's favorite, but I don't think I'll ever get sick of LotR. Reminds me of why I've always wanted to be a writer and also makes me gnash my teeth and wonder how I ever though I could be a writer. :)

I find book 4 (Frodo and Sam's portion of TTT) to be the slowest, but they are almost to Cirith Ungol so things should get rollicking again with RotK, which I think is my favorite.

The Fellowship was a painful chore for me, but the other two were great.

I would maybe like to do a reread once now that I have read so much more fantasy.

[Starkess]

The Fellowship was a painful chore for me, but the other two were great.

I would maybe like to do a reread once now that I have read so much more fantasy.

Really? It's definitely RotK > FotR >> TTT for me. And I could maybe swap out RotK and FotR on any given day. I think it hits all the right notes between mystery and travelogue and adventuring with an excellent cast of characters. Perhaps because I've never been too enamored of reading about battles, so sometimes the Helm's Deep and Pelennor Fields stuff drags a little for me.

[Asathor]

Finished The Steel Remains by Morgan. I thought is was ok but maybe too focused on sexuality. The fact that the main char is gay doesn't matter but it's like Morgan really wants you to be shocked by it so he describes sex scenes so explicitly that man-woman-sex would be equally shocking. For the rest it's a well-rounded book with some very very nicely written action scenes.

Furthermore I read The Afghan Campaign by Pressfield. Brilliantly written account on Alexander's conquest of Afghanistan. The POV is a young soldier in the army so it's very crude at times which adds to the grim realities that surround the campaign.

Now it's on to The Books of the South. Cook's first trilogy about the Black Company was great so I hope this will be equally good.

[Starkess]

Finished The Steel Remains by Morgan. I thought is was ok but maybe too focused on sexuality. The fact that the main char is gay doesn't matter but it's like Morgan really wants you to be shocked by it so he describes sex scenes so explicitly that man-woman-sex would be equally shocking. For the rest it's a well-rounded book with some very very nicely written action scenes.

I haven't read The Steel Remains, but I have read other Morgan stuff, and I think that just his mo on how he writes sex scenes. I find them annoying.

[Asathor]

yeah true. I think it does add something to the grimness and the openness of the book though. It adds to the atmosphere of playing with the fantasy tropes in that it never allows the reader to become too complacent and at ease with the story. It's meant to keep you on your toes and edgy and in the respect I understand the use of such depictions of sex. But I can't help wonder if a more subtle approach could not have driven the point home as well.

[Guinevere Seaworth]

Perhaps not the best choice if you want a book set in renaissance Italy. ;)

Ooops! I meant to say the Italian de Medici family portrayed in the TV show The Borgais piqued my interest.

That is what happens after drinking a few glasses of outstanding red wine from Spain.

:blushing:

[Garett Hornwood]

Well I finished New Spring just eight days after I started it, I didn't realize it was a little over 350 pages when I made my first estimate of what I would get accomplished this month.

Tomorrow I'm going to be starting The Making of Medieval Spain by Gabriel Jackson, which turns out to be just under 200 pages. So unless it's a really dry read, I could be done with it by Tuesday.

Which means I could be starting Lord of Chaos by the middle of next week. I can't believe how fast I'm going through the Wheel of Time series.

[Switchback]

Which means I could be starting Lord of Chaos by the middle of next week. I can't believe how fast I'm going through the Wheel of Time series.

i envy you starting that book for the first time. my favorite. settle in.

i'm on an american revolution kick lately. i've never studied much of this war until recently, but been very entertained by a few recent books and the john adams hbo series. currently into axelrod's nicely-pictured general history, which has been big fun and let me see some of the big picture. also read mccullough's 1776 and his book about adams the hbo series very neatly adapted. this war, and the years preceding it, including the french and indian war, are way more exciting than the BS 'i'm an american so us americans were totally oppressed by a tyrannical and distant king so we of course decided we were too good and just to take it any more' kind of history i was taught in school. i was actually a history major in college but completely avoided the american revolution for fear of it just being way too boring. should have seen what those profs had to say. shit's fascinating.

[mashiara]

I finished and loved The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. I thought it was an excellent read and it left me feeling bruised, almost traumatized. I find myself still thinking about it, 3-4 days later. It felt very original for all its not so uncommon topic. When I first realized it involves Jesuits and aliens I feared it might be preachy -and mind you, I do consider myself a believer. It didn't. God is mentioned often but the book makes you question your faith, if you have any, or feel vindicated in not believing even. Some of the questions posed were questions I had asked myself in the past and still do at some point, so it affected me deeply. As to the book itself and its merits, I thought the main character was really well written and the way the story was presented, jumping between the past and the present, left you wanting more and maintained your interest at all times.

I also finished The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle. Beautiful little book, wonderful prose reading almost like poetry. It had a dreamy quality to it, like a fairy tale for adults.

Next up is Embassytown by China Mieville.

[Biter]

I just finished Murakami's Kafka on the Shore, which was a wild, weird ride.

I'll take some time to think about what I just read, and then get started on Richard Yates' The Easter Parade.

[Isis]

The Night Circus - I really wish I had found time to write this a week ago, right after I finished it, as my feelings were quite strong then. As time has passed I feel far less bothered about the book. My overwhelming feeling is that this book is essentially The Time Traveller's Wife but with magic instead of time travel (and less unsexy sex scenes, yay). Upon reading the reviews after finishing the book my opinion is confirmed. So many people saying 'I have never read a more beautiful book'... Seriously? Please read some more books! The praise that has been heaped on this book is incredible to me. It is decidedly not a life changing book. It is a nice, diverting love story with some pretty descriptions thrown in. I enjoyed reading it. I honestly did. But then again I enjoy a Jilly Cooper novel now and again. But I recognise it as a time-filler rather than a life altering event.

Also: LONDON DOESN'T HAVE BLOCKS (as was stated twice in The Night Circus). The author didn't quite find the time during their research to look at a map of the city? I'm disappointed.

What did Mash and Bellis think of this one btw? I seem to recall one of them saying they didn't like it and based on the level of praise I've seen for it here I wondered if I might disagree with those esteemed readers for a change...

Tell you what I did like: The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt (as recommended to me by red snow). First off - one of my favourite books covers. Secondly - this is so easy to read. The pages practically flew by. When I read the blurb I thought it sounded a bit like a Cormac McCarthy novel and to be honest I wondered if it might be too heavy going for me at the moment. But then I spotted a review in the inside cover that said this book was a bit like a Cormac McCarthy novel with a sense of humour. And it really, really is. A perfect antidote to The Night Circus. :)

[UndergroundMan]

Working my way through a reread of "The Once and Future King" which I haven't read in almost a decade. It's even better than I remember. Just started "Railsea" as well, which is good so far. After that I may jump into a "Storm of Swords" reread to get excited for next season and to refresh my memory of what's probably the most eventful book in the series and one which I have only read once and that about four or five years ago.

[mashiara]

The Night Circus - I really wish I had found time to write this a week ago, right after I finished it, as my feelings were quite strong then. As time has passed I feel far less bothered about the book. My overwhelming feeling is that this book is essentially The Time Traveller's Wife but with magic instead of time travel (and less unsexy sex scenes, yay). Upon reading the reviews after finishing the book my opinion is confirmed. So many people saying 'I have never read a more beautiful book'... Seriously? Please read some more books! The praise that has been heaped on this book is incredible to me. It is decidedly not a life changing book. It is a nice, diverting love story with some pretty descriptions thrown in. I enjoyed reading it. I honestly did. But then again I enjoy a Jilly Cooper novel now and again. But I recognise it as a time-filler rather than a life altering event.

What did Mash and Bellis think of this one btw? I seem to recall one of them saying they didn't like it and based on the level of praise I've seen for it here I wondered if I might disagree with those esteemed readers for a change...

Esteemed reader? Hehehe, you made my day. My friend, I think this is where we finally disagree. Nothing wrong with that -provided it doesn't happen too often. I really liked that book, I did indeed think it was beautifully written. I will not claim it had a great plot or a meaningful lot to say, but I loved the way it said it. Now, you know I've read a lot of books, right? It wasn't the most beautiful and it wasn't the most poignant, but it was a damn good one and it left me feeling happy. I would never call it "life-changing" though, people really say that?

I'm pretty sure I remember Bellis hating it, maybe she'll come around and confirm this.

Btw, The Sisters Brothers went on my to-read list as soon as I saw how much you liked it. :)

eta: ooh, Jilly Cooper, I know I've read a couple of her books but it's been so many years I have no idea which ones, how can I add them to my Goodreads now? See what you've done?

[wolverine]

Bought ready to just skim the rest of Catch-22, on the short list for what is up next:

Lords of the North by Cornwell

Doomsday Book by Willis

Gormenghast by Peake

The Sunne in Splendor by Penman

Chronicles of the Black Company by Cook

The Wind through the Keyhole by King

Terror by Simmons

Any suggestions?

[peterbound]

Bought ready to just skim the rest of Catch-22, on the short list for what is up next:

Lords of the North by Cornwell

Doomsday Book by Willis

Gormenghast by Peake

The Sunne in Splendor by Penman

Chronicles of the Black Company by Cook

The Wind through the Keyhole by King

Terror by Simmons

Any suggestions?

I love anything by Connie Willis. I'd start there.

[irwallace]

I have mainly been reading the Outlaw Chronicles by Angus Donald. Quite a different take on the usual Robin Hood stories.