What are you reading in August ?

[Biter]

After finishing the wonderful 'Salems Lot (I think I might have read it a few years ago), I'm getting started on Lars Kepler's The Hypnotist.

[JSC5]

Was thinking of doing the good ol' reread, but I think I'd rather read something new. So I'm also getting on the Murakami bandwagon :D Norwegian Wood first, though I'm not sure what comes after it.

He comes highly recommended from friends, even other authors (Ishiguro and David Mitchell most notably), so I'm excited.

Also I'm considering some Neil Gaiman, and Orhan Pamuk (Museum of Innocence), though it's highly doubtful I'll finish it all in August.

I'm 100 pages into The Wind Up Bird Chronicle and I'm loving it. I'm not sure quite what it is, but the story is engrossing me even though its been pretty slow. Can't wait to try IQ84.

[JSC5]

While on holiday I read Michael Shaara's Killer Angels. Thanks to those who recced it in the historical novels thread, since I enjoyed it quite a bit.

About half-way through Existence by David Brin now.

How's Existence? I've heard some mixed things but it is intriguing me. I haven't read any Brin before.

[deleted01]

I'm about 71% through Baby (Species Intervention) and I think it's really bloody good. A little bit slow, but there's a lot happening and I'm once again pleasantly surprised that I'm enjoying it so much, when I didn't think I would.

[Peadar]

How's Existence? I've heard some mixed things but it is intriguing me. I haven't read any Brin before.

It's enjoyable, but the mixed reviews are fair.

I follow the author on Google+ and enjoy his cogent rants about technology, politics and other things. This book reflects his personality and his thinking pretty well. In other words, his Big Picture is fun and interesting, but on the downside, the characters aren't particularly memorable and none of the future writers he "quotes" feel like individuals separate from Mr. Brin himself.

I like it. You will have to take your chances :cool4:

[Bearbert Dondarrion]

I'm 100 pages into The Wind Up Bird Chronicle and I'm loving it. I'm not sure quite what it is, but the story is engrossing me even though its been pretty slow. Can't wait to try IQ84.

The prose is really good and engrossing. It makes for a very easy read.

[Juli Greyjoy]

I read The Lies of Locke Lamora and most of Red Seas under Red Skies while I was on holiday and really really loved them. The release of Republic of Thieves will be my event of the year. :lol:

[jagilki]

The Night of the Swarm by Robert V.S. Redick. Should be blasting through it as I'm finally home after losing a toe and am homebound, but... just can't concentrate on reading atm.

[Persepolis]

Read The Ocean at the End of the Lane the other day, and what can i say, i think i'll reread it right away. I love me some Neil Gaiman!

[David Selig]

I finished Light by M. John Harrison. As always with Harrison, plenty of weird stuff (though less than I expected and at the end the plot turns out to be quite straightforward), sometimes I felt a bit lost, but it's really captivating throughout and gorgeously written book.

[deleted01]

I just finished The Cuckoo's Calling, and I'm really glad I decided to pick it up, despite my reservations. A very well-written, nicely paced novel. Although my guess as to whoddunit turned out to be correct, I didn't think it was at all predictable, and I enjoyed the air of mystery running through the book. Looking forward to the sequel!

I also finished Baby: Species Intervention yesterday, which was another fantastic book, and got 5 stars from me on Goodreads. The paperbacks seem pretty rare (and expensive!), and it doesn't seem like the author is very well known, so I'll definitely do my bit to promote the books on here. I've read the free sample of the sequel, Echo, and may continue with that next.

[Zar Lannister]

After 3 months, I finished the Hyperion Cantos saga with The Rise of Endymion. I didn't like it. It just seems to me that whatever spark made the First Two Hyperion books so great and fascinating got lost somewhere in Book Three.

[lojzelote]

I continue with The Accursed Kings; I've just began The Poisoned Crown. I'm really excited because both The Iron King and The Strangled Queen were great fun, although I can't comment on the historical accuracy because my knowledge of the medieval France is feeble, regrettably.

Before that, I had read The House on the Strand by Daphne du Maurier and Songs of Stars and Shadows by GRRM. The House is a book about what I've always wanted to do: return to the Middle Ages and unseen watch people. Despite that, the book disapponted me a little; I didn't really buy the way the drug worked and the first two thirds dragged a bit. OTOH, both storylines interested me (true, the one in the present time only later in the story) and the ambiguous ending was a great plus, IMO. I guess the story could be undestood as a warning against the dangers of escapism?

GRRM's stories I really enjoyed, as usual. My favorite ones are This Tower of Ashes and Patrick Henry, Jupiter, and the Little Red Brick Spaceship, albeit it was Night of the Vampyres which made feel sick in the stomach because it seemed as something what could theoretically happen even now, not just sci-fi (no, it's not about actual vampires). The Runners and The Night Shift lacked tension, I felt, but I've got the message, or at least I belive so. I had to think of And Seven Times Never Kill Man for a long time than I arrived to a conclusion what happened. The ending was brutal.

[Zar Lannister]

House of Leaves sits in my shelf, but I don't know if I can handle that book right now after the major disappointment that was the last Cantos.

There's also Battle Royale, and a non-fiction book called Where Men Win Glory,

I think I'm going to go with reading Krakauer this time.

[Rody]

I did start reading Winter King but I finally got my hands on Empire of Thorns, I've been waiting for this book since August 2012!

[Ded As Ned]

Just finished The Blade Itself and on to Before They Are Hanged

[williamjm]

I read Chris Wooding's standalone fantasy novel The Fade. I thought it was a good book with more similarities to his Braided Path series than his Ketty Jay series. I liked the world it was set in (almost the entire book takes place in vast underground caverns in a world whose surface is too hot to support human life during the day) and I wouldn't mind reading another book in the setting. The structure is slightly odd, it starts in the middle of the song then alternating chapters go forward and backwards in time, but I thought it worked reasonably well even if the present-day chapters were more interesting than Orna's backstory. I think the prison escape that takes up much of the first half of the book was a particular highlight.

Now back to River of Stars, which I paused halfway through since I didn't want to carry a huge hardback on long train journeys.

GRRM's stories I really enjoyed, as usual. My favorite ones are This Tower of Ashes and Patrick Henry, Jupiter, and the Little Red Brick Spaceship, albeit it was Night of the Vampyres which made feel sick in the stomach because it seemed as something what could theoretically happen even now, not just sci-fi (no, it's not about actual vampires). The Runners and The Night Shift lacked tension, I felt, but I've got the message, or at least I belive so. I had to think of And Seven Times Never Kill Man for a long time than I arrived to a conclusion what happened. The ending was brutal.

I thought This Tower of Ashes and And Seven Times Never Kill Man were both excellent. I agree The Night Shift was a bit underwhelming, and I can't even remember what The Runners is about, which probably indicates how memorable it was.

[Guinevere Seaworth]

I finally finished the behemoth that was Aztec by Gary Jennings. Despite the abundance of cringe worthy sex and violent scenes, I found it be a very good novel. I was impressed in the research that the author, which according to Internet, was pretty accurate.

I started the final novel in Lindsay Buroker's Emperor's Edge series, Forged in Blood II. I needed a witty and adventurous novel after reading a somewhat grim book which I found Aztec to be at times.

[slothman92]

Reading the complete works of Tolkien chronologically, really enjoying so far, just finished the First Age. Had never read Sil or Unfinished Tales before.

[TheGhostInWinterfell]

speaker for the dead-orson scott card and grim company-luke scull