What are you reading TODAY? And do you recommend it to other Dragoneers? Why?

I am wondering if the doldrums the Dragon seems to be floating through might be due to our journals reducing the amount of dialog on books, so, I thought I'd try a book centric thread-for-all. Let the games begin:

I am reading Ringworld by Larry Niven and very much am enjoying it and would recommend it to any who have never read it. I like the variety of beings in these first chapters and it reminds me of the early Star Wars movie with all those interesting looking folks. Also, I think the plot is setting up very nicely as exciting, and full of suspense.

Agreee Ringworld is worth reading!

I'm reading - Beholder's Eye and I'd recommend it to most GDers. It follows the exploits of one Es a "web based" creature, that can shapechange into other species. The Web's goal is the understanding and preservation of all other life forms, so the various members of the web shapechange into unobtrusive (living) forms to observe new beings and their cultures. On Es's first trip it experiences some difficulties and is nearly exposed for what it is. Really good fun in places, especially trying to guess hte morphology of a being you only get brief internal descriptions of - I flexed my tail feathers displaying the agitation I felt. etc.

If anyone's noticed my reading thread, they know I'm in the middle of The Count of Monte Cristo and love it to bits. Yeah, it's a huge book, but it moves along pretty well and is full of delicious dialogue, devious doings and dastardly deeds. Oh and revenge, sweet revenge. By reading it so far from its publication period and having read hundreds of thrillers I can see the genesis of many memes and popular forms. Plus all those French names are terrific.

LOL... it's NOT just us, maggie. We're still consistently the 3rd or 4th highest posting group on LT, even when it seems like no one is talking. (We never top that challenge group and rarely top that gaming group!) Most of my other LT groups are, simply put, dead. I think something like this happens every year around this time. As Jill said in another thread, all of her social networking sites have slowed. I think for those of us in North America we're all out soaking up the last of the sun before it's gone. :o/

But, to answer your question, I am finally almost done with Ireland. I've enjoyed it, but I probably wouldn't recommend it for people who are not of Irish decent.

I'm reading Colour: Travels Through the Paintbox. I'm very bad at summarizing books: it's about the pigments and dyes of days past. Each chapter focuses on a different color. It's a bit more travelogue-y than I expected, but still very interesting, especially since my husband works with color all day long as a color matcher/quality assurance guy in a plastics factory. He has first-hand experience with some of the substances the author describes in the book.

eta: it was recommended to me by @klarusu

eta2: I know the subtitle should have tipped me off to the travel aspects of the book, but this is a UK edition I got from BookMooch. The US subtitle is "A Natural History of the Palette".

I'm loving The Island at the Center of the World--non-fiction about the founding of New York City in the early seventeenth century...it's written with such graceful clarity and with a roguish sense of humor that bubbles through frequently. A delightful book, highly recommended if you have an interest in early American (or should I say Dutch?) history.

I'm trying to finish Anathem by Neal Stephenson, before his next book arrives from amazon. It's a brick of a book, and I've been working through it for about 2 years because it is too huge to carry around with me. But I am loving it, even though it is largely dependent on mathematical ideas and theories. Recommended to SF readers who are not scared of HUGE books where characters have long discussions about maths problems in order to apply them to the threat of an alien invasion.

The Devil's Playground by Stav Sherez - not very far through it yet, but it's looking extremely good so far.

DVD Extras Include Murder by Nev Fountain. Second in the Mervyn Stone mysteries. Mervyn was script editor and writer on an old BBC tv series called "Vixens From The Void" now a cult favourite (although Vixens fandom mainly exists to give Xena Warrior Princess fans someone to look down on, according to the first book in the series, Geek Tragedy). The first book was murder at a convention, and I enjoyed it very much. Funny, sarcastic, and good plot. I've just started DVD Extras, but it seems like it will be just as much fun. Fun fact: Nev Fountain is "in a relationship with" Nicola Bryant, who played companion Peri Brown on Doctor Who.

I just finished Lost in Shangri-La and recommend it highly. The true story of a plane crash during WWII in a primitive New Guinea area untouched by civilization, with major issues on how to survive and how to interact with local inhabitants. Comprehensively researched, including interviews with the locals, clean writing, and a reader-friendly visual presentation.

well I am reading A feast for crows and I will recommend it, but in this group it would probably be the 52nd time it is recommended or something like it.
I am also reading Barndommens historie by Philippe Aries. The title translated to English would be History of childhood. I don't have the book with me right now, so I can't find the original titel. It is a classic in looking on childhood as worthy scientific study area. So far it is very interesting

I finished Nights of Villjamur this morning and really enjoyed it. Interesting take on your typical medieval sort of world, with a look at the practical side of that world for the common people. I had some issues with the writing at first, but the plot and the storyline were good enough that I could overlook the quirky-ness of the writing.

I'll definitely read the sequels.

Beginning House of Chains today and will be happy to get back to Malazan. Although it's a pretty depressing world so I'm trying to read something a bit more cheerful (or at least not so devastatingly dreadful) in between the Malazan books.

#7 - Loved Anathem. I hope Readme won't be a let-down - it should be here in another 8 days or so...

I'm presently rereading Chanur's Legacy and as it is the last of the Chanur books it's ahrd to recommend it. I do recommend the series, though. Or what you should call it. The first book, Pride of Chanur is like that pilot episode of a new series; then the REAL story begins, with a three-book sequence (Chanur's Venture, The Kif Strikes Back and Chanur's Homecoming), and then, like some kind of follow-up movie - Chanur's Legacy.

Politics, intrigue, action, and aliens, in space. *thumbs up*

@14: The Chanur books are fantastic. I don't feel the need to ever read Chanur's Legacy again, but the first four are amazing.

I'm currently reading Star Wars: Ascension by Christie Golden, which is book 8 out of 9 in the Fate of the Jedi series. It's decent, but definitely not recommended for anyone but the diehard SW fan who's stayed more or less current with the ongoing SW saga.

I'm currently reading Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. It's about a virus that jumps from a cyberworld into the real world (a world run by corporations) and a hacker/pizza delivery guy that tries to stop it. It feels dated - as if at the time it was written 1992 it would have been a really big thing - but now the world it describes feels real in parts. It's interesting enough that I'll complete it but doubt I'd recommend it to anyone.

P.S. Great idea for a thread!

#5 Dayna, I have Color: A Natural History of the Palette sitting right next to me. I have not read more than a paragraph or two but it promises to also explain the origins of colors, and lots of geography and history is promised. I learned that my favorite Lapis Lazuli is the substance which made ultramarine blue, and that Michelangelo waited for this blue to come to him, for months. Ultramarine meant "from over seas" roughly.

You might enjoy this book, too, or you may have already read it.

That sounds like an interesting book.

I liked Color when read it years ago.

#16 - Snow Crash was revolutionary when it was published. Now - not so much. Pretty dated, I feel. It was originally written as the script for a graphic novel, I think.

#15 - I feel much the same re Legacy. Thought I'd give it a go anyway this time around ;-)

Finished Alistair Cooke, the biography this morning. Very long (620 pages), but so was his life (over 90 years). Great if you remember 'Letter from America', probably somewhere between boring amd mystifying (as in What was the fuss about?) if you don't.

Also reading The Dragon Seekers, which may at that be a good one for the GD. About how dinosaurs and their ilk were discovered in the first half of the 19th century, and how the discoveries paved the way for Darwin. To answer the question in the title, I'd definitely recommend this one to @DaynaRT, if you haven't read it already.

And (#19) I also liked Colour when I read it some time ago.

I'm working my way through the Newbery winners, and today I'm reading Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (and loving every word!).

I'm reading Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor (no, not that one). I started it last night, and it's very good. Older British widow moves into a London resident hotel, and is ignored by her grandson who is the only relative living in the area. Her interactions with other residents, and a young man (Ludo) she meets (when she has an accident outside his flat) are interesting.

The humor is very subtle, for example: when Mrs Palfrey is first looking around her room, and observes that she has a bad view (of a brick wall), she muses that good views are usually reserved for honeymooners, and wonders why they would need a good view. Another time, when she is telling Ludo about the Claremont, she remarks that of course, "We aren't allowed to die here."

I would recommend this book. It's a fast read, and while it is very like the film, the book gives more depth to the other characters interacting with Mrs Palfrey.

I just finished The Lies of Locke Lamora and absolutely adore it. Awesome story with a really good feel for the reader. It's compared a lot to Ocean's Eleven, which I agree with, since at least the first few chapters gave me the same feeling as the Ocean-movies. The second part is totally different, though. Highly recommended.

>23 millhold: @millhold I also very much enjoyed Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont. The author was able to successfully convey multiple perspectives (e.g. Ludo's) while the reader identifies with Mrs. Palfrey, and I ended up quite moved by it all.

I'm in the middle of City of Ruin, the sequel to Nights of Villjsmur. Both are excellent.

>23 millhold:: I have some of Taylor's other novels, but Mrs Palfrey is the one I most want to get my hands on. It doesn't seem to turn up in second hand shops though . . .

>26 drneutron:: I really enjoyed the first two Villjamur books as well, and am quite surprised to see so many negative reviews on here. In general, they seem to have been more favourably received in the UK than the US. It's a much bigger disconnect than I think I've ever seen before.

There are some books here that I'm glad to see other people enjoying; others are heading for my TBR or wishlist.

Today I was reading two books:

The Tempest (manga version) - I was skeptical of it and only borrowed it from the library because I thought it would be less dry than just reading the text. It uses a lightly edited original text with manga animation. The drawing definitely animates it better than just reading the text, but I don't think it could ever substitute a stage or screen version.

I also started on Victory of Eagles. I've been devouring the Temeraire books the last couple of months, despite not having too much time for reading. The series is still going strongly so far, though I've read that the latest book was a disappointment. I'd still recommend it to anyone with a thing for dragons and/or historical fiction. Novik is meticulous and is a clever writer.

*color me surprised*

Last night I needed a fresh book to read, and picked Red Hats out of the TBR sack. The first thing I did, was to remove all the price sticky tags from all over the front, which were covering the author's name, and some of the artwork. This was a book I bought based on its title, and cover. When I finally saw the author's name, my first thought was this can't at all be the Damon Wayans with whom I'm familiar, but it was! The book was so good, I couldn't put it down! The "voice" was on target, the situations believable, and I'm still trying to figure out whether it was a love story, or exactly what. I absolutely loved it.

This morning started M Butterfly by David Henry Hwang. It's a play, based upon a real event, and I'm not very far into it yet, so I'm reserving judgement.

(14), (15) I love the Chanur books too, but while the first four are in a class by themselves, I did enjoy Chanur's Legacy, especially how the issues were resolved at the end.

I'm still waiting for the third book in the Nighthorse series that started with Rider at the Gate and continued with Cloud's Rider. I read some years ago that the publisher did not want a third book in the series, which disappointed me. :(

Oh, what am I currently reading? I'm finishing up To Green Angel Tower, a reread of the final book in the "Sorrow, Memory and Thorn" trilogy by Tad Williams. It's just as good as when I read it the first time, about twenty years ago!

Maggie and all of you: forgive me if I am speaking out of turn, I don't want to be misunderstood and I mean no disrespect. Here's my thought on posting my readings:

There are a lot of places to post things - what are you reading this week, where are you now (I like those two most, they are quite active, fast, and give me the most responses - I really like responses), as well as the various genre what-are-you-reading groups, and all the various journals. I couldn't possibly read all of these things and don't want to post the same post several times.

I'm sure I'm missing out on some great little conversations, but what do I do? I've gotten a lot of good reading tips from all of the things I've read and I've really enjoyed reading comments, but how to cover it all? Can some groups be joined?

So, I am currently reading They came to Baghdad - Christie knows the places and activities of which she writes and it makes a nice holiday.

I just finished reading Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky - this was a very interesting take on the people escaping from Paris when the Germans are moving in during WWII. It was especially interesting because it was translated from French but still holds a very French voice. The characters are true to life and the changes they had to make in their lives - or surprising lack of changes - fit the story very well. I was surprised because there really isn't any war happening to them, just the great fear of it. I'd like to know what happened to them next. This book was partly written by Irene Nemirovsky but was finished by the translator from notes and diaries written by Nemirovsky.

I know there are lots of places to post discussion such as these but too often it seemed to me it is frequently one person posting on their thread and then people commenting along the way. I just thought a common, quick and short, thread might offer the chance to notice something I might not have otherwise noticed.

No offense taken. Not at all. There are many tactics one can use such as the little red X when a thread just does not interest. Also, skimming through threads and remaining a quiet, nonposting lurker can make keeping up a bit easier. And then there is the "keeping up? why bother" approach.

It is all good and we are a friendly pub; no reason to feel like participating in every conversation.

29 Millhold - Ooh, I've been meaning to read that. I should find a copy of it.

maggie, yes, I like this thread too. And I do use the little x quite a lot, and still there's a lot of threads to read, and lots of good books too.

(31) (32) nhlsecond, maggie, I enjoy reading the conversations here, but (hangs head) due to time constraints, I often just skim over the threads, looking for items that interest me.

And if something interests me, I 'star' it for further reading, as time allows.

#33 ~~ Which one?

I'm in the middle of The Coroner's Lunch, the first in a mystery series by Colin Cotterill. It's set in 1970's Laos and is quite surprising--charming but gritty, and the writing is good. I haven't been here long enough to know whether to recommend it to the GD generally . . . but my favorite fantasy bookseller recommended it to me, FWIW!!

36 - M Butterfly

Today, I'm reading 2011 State by State Update on Laboratory Capabilities and Response Readiness Planning just issued by CDC. (Odd, touchstones don't seem to work on this title.) I can't really recommend reading it cover to cover -- there's kind of a repetitive quality to the prose.

>>Ah 39...then you've probably come across the little lab I work at here in Hamilton, Montana.........:-)

I'm still listening to Deathly Hallows, as read by Stephen Fry.

The Dream of Rome by Boris Johnson. Definitely to be recommended for a crop of interesting ideas beautifully put (and that's only the first three chapters, so far). As an example of his style, here's a description of an equestrian statue of Louis XIV in Roman dress:
"Louis thinks he looks like a Roman emperor; what he really looks like is a fat man in a skirt on a horse."

Field Grey by Philip Kerr. It is a light read and I am finding it moves along at a pleasant pace. Not taxing and quite entertaining.

My heavier read is Brasyl by Ian McDonald. That is very enjoyable. I recently read The Dervish House by McDonald, and that is a strong recommendation.

t is for trespass the continuing saga of Kinsey's PI agency, now up to 1988. Much like all the others if you want a somewhat generic PI crime story then it's better than many, but it is generic, and 20+titles in, starting to get more than a little formulaic. Some GDers might enjoy it, but probably not for everyone.

I'm quite enjoying Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt. It's supposedly about a murder in Savannah but I'm about 5 chapters in and no murder in sight. Lots of descriptions of Savannah and various colorful characters though. I can recommend it so far for light non-fiction readers.

I really enjoyed Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil too, for the descriptions and the characters. And the plot too. Good writing :)

I'm mid-way through How To Live which pleasantly mixes discussions of philosophy with biographical sketches of Montaigne's life. Thoroughly enjoyable, although it does require some attention (translation: I learned new words in reading it.)

Later today I will settle in with Margery Allingham's The China Governess as that is a light read. I do love Campion as a character.

(45 & 46) I seem to recall watching that as a movie a few years back.

I read Of Human Bondage a couple of days ago... It did depress me, but I would still recommend it.

>22 scaifea: NIMH is one of my all time favorites!

>45 Morphidae: That is on my "To Read" list. The movie was great.

Just started Dragons of Autumn Twilight. Can't say whether I'd recommend it or not yet 'cause I'm only one chapter in. ;-p I did however just finish 'Salem's Lot and I do highly recommend that!

On the last chapter of Colour: Travels Through the Paintbox and I'm happy it's almost over. Too many feelings and not enough science for me.

I've had a very sad month of almost no reading so it was nice to see this thread on an evening where I've finally picked up a book!

I've just started Delete: The Virtue of Forgetting in the Digital Age by Viktor Mayer-Schonberger. I'm only a couple of chapters in, but as someone who reads a lot about the importance of memory, it's an interesting counter argument on the role and importance of forgetting. I'd say it's a thought provoking and accessible read, and probably worth a detour for anyone with an active 'virtual' life, although it is actually quite alarming once you start to realise how much data is generated and stored about our lives on a daily basis!

#38 ~~ Finished it, and enjoyed (if that's the right word) it very much. I found it interesting, and intriguing.

Just finished Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson. So much of this book reminded me of my childhood; there were many places I laughed, and many others I cried.

#43 - I personally thought River of Gods so much better than Brasyl. But that's just me :)

About my present read/recommendation: Anyone enjoying vampire lit should read The Fallen Blade. I normally can't stand the stuff but this one is very well written.

I'm reading a few different books right now but "today" have only read a few pages of Ghost Story by Jim Butcher and The Sign of Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

I recommend both of these because Harry Dresden and Sherlock Holmes are both completely awsome characters and everyone should read stories about them :-)

#54 Busifer

I've had River of Gods for some time and not managed to read it yet.

I can see some people finding difficulty with Brasyl because of the structure of the language used in some areas. I'm having to make allowances for that and am focusing on the story.

#56 - To me the paranormal stuff what was got to me. It's there in River... as well but somehow it was handled better than in Brasyl.
(I did like Brasyl, I like his language and style).

#55 - Everyone but me, then ;-)

#50 - Dragons of Autumn Twilight, has perhaps not aged well, but given that it was the inspiration for most of DnD its pretty good. The opening sequences are just superb, you hear the dice falling, missed saving throw..... I would certaintly recommend it to anyone who's ever played fantasy tabletop games. You'll want the sequels too - though not necessarily all of them!

>50 Death_By_Papercut:, 58: Someone recommended the Dragonlance books to me when I was in university (mid 90s). I tried Dragons of Autumn Twilight but was pretty underwhelmed by it. Recently I got a strange urge to reread it, and enjoyed it a lot more this time, so much so that I finished the trilogy. I think that's weird, because I've read a whole lot more fantasy since my first attempt and I expected to despise the DL books even more in comparison to all the great stuff I've discovered since. I'm going to read the Twins trilogy at some point as people say those are the best of the DL books.

(I realise I have totally destroyed any fantasy-reading street cred I might have had by making this confession!)

I recently finished L. Ron Hubbard Presents: Writers of the Future, Volume XXVII. A darn good collection of mostly sci-fi short stories with one or two fantasies, by up-and-coming new writers. "Maddy Dune's First and Only Spelling Bee" by Patrick O'Sullivan was easily the best entry, and also happened to be the only true fantasy story. Worth picking up for that one alone.

In anticipation of getting Jim Butcher's Ghost Story from the library (I'm only 6th in line now!) I decided to check out Side Jobs. It's been over a year since I cranked through the first 12 Dresden books, and man, I'd almost forgotten just how much I love reading these stories.

Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters, but have just started it, so I don't know whether I will recommend it.

>61 millhold: I've been thinking of trying to track down the movie version of Tipping the Velvet because I think Benedict Cumberbach is in it, but I have no idea what the story is about (except maybe it has something to do with lesbians?)

I'd be curious to see if you like it.

#62 ~~ Yes, it has to do with lesbians, but I don't know to what extent, yet. What I've read so far, I've very much enjoyed.

I have about 8 books I'm reading with my youngest neice for the Gay & Lesbian Literature class she's taking this fall. There were more on the list, but we could only find 1 copy of some of them, so she got those, and I'll read them after the class is done. I've enjoyed everyone, and we love discussing them. She says that for an old lady, I'm surprisingly "liberated" in my thinking.

#63 - ...or she's prejudiced about "old ladies" ;-)

Busifer ~~ I think she compares my thinking to her mother's (almost 20 years younger than me) thinking, which is very conservative. And yes, she may be a little prejudiced about "old ladies." :-) I'm always surprising her.

Just finished Sleight of Paw, a cozy cat mystery by Sofie Kelly. I liked it. The characters are beginning to round out a bit (this is the second in the series), and the cats are humorous. I'll probably look for the next one.

Hi all I'm new to The Green Dragon & been away from LT for awhile but I'm back! :)

Today I was reading The Fifth Chinese Daughter by Jade Snow Wong. I'm just a couple chapters in but the style is interesting, it's biographical but the author uses the third person which is apparently used often in Chinese literature. It details the experiences of growing up as the daughter of Chinese immigrants in San Francisco in the early 19th century. I'm reading it for a class but it seems really interesting.

Welcome Veta! I looked at that book not long ago, but resisted the impulse to buy on the theory that I have shelves and shelves of books on California history to read. It sounds like it's right up my ally though!

I just read the short story The Warrior, by Jim Butcher. Loved, loved loved it. I read it in the book, Mean Streets, and did not find the second story by Simon R. Green quite as appealing, but it had some interesting characters in it.

I bought Reamde yesterday from Northtown Books
and 50 pages in it's gooood.

I am loving reading following atticus. This "little dog" is an awesome hiker and the author just follows him around, up and down big hills in New Hampshire; and learns about life along the way (of course). I needed a good dog book and this one is advertised as one where the dog is not dead at the end.

#69 Jasper

50 pages in it's gooood

I'm glad to hear that. I bought it a couple of weeks ago but my wife has hidden it away until Christmas. Now I can enjoy three months of anticipation with hope of an enjoyable read at the end.

PS If it turns out to go down hill, please tell me to ignore your posts about Reamde. :-)

I am just finishing up John Grisham's The Innocent Man for my real life bookclub next week. It's Grisham's only nonfiction book--about an innocent (although mentally ill) man who was days away from being executed due to police and DA's shennanigans. Very sobering in light of the execution in Georgia earlier today.

My audiobook for the car is the Teaching Company's The Life and Writings of C. S, Lewis. I've been picking up his books and adding them to MT TBR for a while now so it's time to get serious and read them! Can't wait to get to his space trilogy.

Also picking away at my August ER win. It's the first ER book that I've wondered if I'll get through. Self-help and self-published. It's driven me to take out a pencil and circle the misspellings/typos/grammatical errors on EVERY page. Sigh. I won't post the name of it yet, since I'm not far into it and I want to give the concept a chance.

I'm re-reading Red Dragon and I forgot how spacey Harris's writing is at times. Maybe it's just Will's character, but the writing is choppy, disjointed and surreal at times. I like it because it was one of the first forensic thrillers in popular fiction. I also like the treatment of Dolarhyde during the novel; making him a human, not just a monster. And the fact that Harris forever makes me shudder inside at the word dentures. Oh and there's Hannibal Lecter when he was mysterious and creepy.

I'm reading Major Pettigrew's Last Stand and I'm not impressed. Unhappy people, unhappy events. Mostly unlikable characters. I'm halfway done and not sure I'll finish it.

#69/71 - I have it on my shelf but horribly enough I need to not only finish my present read but also read a book a colleague borrowed me - Adiamante, which I have zero idea about... The torture! ;-)

>Sorry you're not liking Major Pettigrew's Last Stand so far, Morphidae. It's one of my favorites of recent years, and the finish, for me, was moving and memorable. There are unlikeable characters and ones that become likeable and lovable by the end.

Millhold--I'd love to hear more about the books you're reading for the class your niece is taking. Sounds like fun to do that together.

I just finished Carmen Dog. It was wonderfully subversive. And Carol Emshwiller is . . . An old lady!

The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers by Thomas Mullen. Miraculously surviving bank robber brothers during the Depression. So far it's very good.

I'm reading Tongues of Serpents, which isn't as good as the other Temeraire novels, but it's still worth reading if you're following the series. I hope that the next one will pick it up again.

Basilisk by Rob Thurman. Rob Thurman creates wonderful characters with strong and loving relationships.

#77 ~~ So far, I'm enjoying all of them. I still have a few more to buy, but I think I'll try to get them on my Kindle, they'll be cheaper, I hope. :-)

The thing my niece finds most difficult is my contention that--with the exception of M. Butterfly--these are simply stories about people: that they are not heterosexuals does give them an added element, obviously, but the stories themselves could have happened to anyone. I think she will understand that better when she is older.

The Dark Half by Stephen King

Only recommended if you like horror.

ETA: No, not recommended. Not his best work.

The Moon is Down by John Steinbeck. Excellent picture of the dynamics of an occupation army. Though it was written in WWII, I can't help thinking of Korea, Vietnam and Iraq as I read.

The man who series by Stephen Donaldson. Noir PI crime stuff, pretty good certainly recommended to anyone who likes Noir detectives, (eg Raymond Chandler et al) Nothing like his SF/F work which is why these were originally published under a pseudoname of Reed Stephens. Alcoholic PI (with some justification|) and his very much more functional partner investigate a few crimes involving a big ganglord in a small town towards the Mexico border.

@84: I loved the Man Who... series. I think book 3 is my favorite, but 4 is really good, too. Donaldson really needs to get to work on the fifth book (after finishing the Last Chronicles, of course.)

I just started in on Jim Butcher's Ghost Story, and of course it's pretty awesome.

I really enjoyed Ghost Story.

The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers, about seemingly unkillable brothers robbing banks and having other adventures during the U.S. Depression, is a good read.

The Dream of Rome by Boris Johnson. Thought provoking, very well written, by no means lacking in humour, what more could one want? @DaynaRT, if you haven't read this, it's calling you!

Yep, sounds like my kind of book!

Rereading Witch Child, the story is completely engrossing. The protagonist Mary Newbury watches as her grandmother is persecuted and ultimately hanged as a witch in England's witch hunts. To escape the fallout Mary travels to Massachusetts with a group of Puritans. Once there she is drawn to the forest and becomes friends with Jaybird, an indian. This of course is cause for suspicion in the community. It's written in diary entries.

Faeries by Brian Froud and Alan Lee. It is lovely. Every illustration, no matter how small is an object for study.

I love Brian Froud's work. I have Good Faeries/Bad Faeries and love looking at it whenever I see it on the shelf.

A Blight of Mages the prequel to the mage duologies. But an excellant introduction to the series. Recommended to all fantasy loving GDers.

Am reading Theirs Not To Reason Why: A Soldier's Duty by local author Jean Johnson. She has agreed to join our discussion at the local Barnes and Noble's Science Fiction group. I don't know about you, but I am a sucker for local authors. I love supporting them, and she has made it easy this time. The book grabbed my attention within the first few pages.

I've been reading Agatha Heterodyne and the Airship City, which is a novelisation of the first three (or is it four?) volumes of Girl Genius. It adds a bit to the comics. It's good for the die-hard fans of Girl Genius or someone who hates reading comics but likes the idea of pulp steampunk.

It does have some moments of really poor editing; misplaced commas, missing spaces, etc. Naughty, naughty.

Robert Massie's new Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman. A treasure! I don't want to put it down.

Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi - for literary buffs and those interested in the conflict in Iran

Emma by Jane Austen - only for Brit Lit buffs

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote - not far enough along to be able to give a recommendation but I have to say it's easier and more interesting to read than I thought it would be

Sanctus - Dan Brown type thriller, only Toyne is actually able to write.

the Hero of Ages Really enjoyed the first book. As the trilogy has gone on, its felt slower, and, with the last book being the thickest, there's almost a feeling like it'll NEVER be over. This is frustrating, because everything else of Brandon's I've liked (at least the adult writing, should give the kid's series another go sometime).

I finished The First Patient by Michael Palmer the other day, and very much enjoyed it. The premise--that the president's doctor has so much say in whether the president is "functional"--is one that I hadn't much considered outside the bounds of the "Airforce One" movie with Harrison Ford. (I also read that book, but can't remember it's name.) I learned a lot from The First Patient, and it also gave me a lot to think about.

Just finished the Hero of Ages and all I can say is WOW! Mr Sanderson, I am very much impressed. I felt like the second book dragged some, but the third was a mind bending ride. I especially liked the ending and the choices you made for certain characters. I'm looking forward to reading Alloy of Law but I think I'm going to take a break for a while first.

Under the Skin by James Carlos Blake. Gangsters in Galveston! I never knew!?! Lotsa sex, violence and puns. I liked it.

Today, I am reading Good Eats 3: The Later Years because I will be seeing Alton Brown at a local bookstore this evening discussing the book. I must confess, I have not read his previous books. ^^;
He has a great sense of humor and he makes gastronomy accessible to everyone. He also provides tips and shortcuts for people on the go. Who can't love that?

I loved the Good Eats tv program. Makes me want to cook!

I finished Theirs Not To Reason Why: A Soldier's Duty last night and completely enjoyed it. Not my usual fare as it is mostly a military history with attendant brutal training, comradery between the troops, and battles with lots of blood. And, in this case, science fiction with all kinds of speculation which was fascinating. People with differing abilities, weapons which were fantastic, all kinds of interesting space ideas. I recommend it to those who enjoy the "harder" science fiction books.

I don't know how soon the second book will be out but as the author is joining our Sci Fi group on Monday perhaps I will be told.... crossing my fingers.

Alton Brown is who got me interested in food anthropology. He's directly responsible for part of my ever-growing TBR pile.

I'm reading Almost Like Being in Love by Steve Kluger. It's a clever and interesting story, but definitely not for someone who has to find their protagonists likeable. These protagonists are neurotic and self-centred, and I suspect they won't see negative results from their actions.

I'm reading Johannes Cabal the Detective and it's delightfully witty. I do recommend it. Part steampunk, part spoof of a 19th century Balkanized Europe, and part fantasy.

A sample: Cabal had been caught trying to check out a book from the library of the Krenz University. The book was in the Special Collection, and Cabal had intended the loan to be of an extended, open-ended sort of period. Anticipating resistance from the library authorities, he had made the loan at half past one in the morning of a national holiday and might have got away with it, too, if it hadn’t been for an enormous mastiff that patrolled the corridors and of which his contacts had unaccountably failed to warn him. When the library was reopened, they’d found Cabal pinned down by 180 pounds of overfriendly dog in the reading room, half drowned in slobber.

I'm reading The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin. It's awesome.

>108 littlegeek: That's on my "to read" list. Found it for ¢50 at Goodwill.

I've been reading my copy of Lovecraft: Tales lately. I rather enjoy Lovecraft. He's good at making your spine crawl. That said, not recommended for anyone overly bothered by political incorrectness and racism in heaping helpings. The man was NOT a fan of the non-WASP, and it shows in his stories.

I started reading The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks (again).I came across it and the rest of the trilogy in a used bookstore this afternoon and couldn't help myself. I loved the book the first time around now I'm loving it even more (amazing what 8 years does). Unfortunately, it interupted The Man with the Golden Torc by Simon R. Green, which had itself interupted The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson. Oh dear. Well, I'd recommend them all so far, and I'll get back to the last two eventually, I suppose.

@DaniJess: Definitely power through The Well of Ascension if you can. Its slow, but the Hero of Ages is SO worth it!

@jillmwo: How is Johnnes Cabal the Detective? Read the first book a year or so ago, but haven't been able to get my hands on a copy of the sequel yet.

I'm reading, and enjoying, Field Grey. It has flaws but is an enjoyable read. There are a few too many coincidences that simplify things for the protagonist, but not enough to damage the enjoyment totally.

Reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Graphic Novel. It's painfully boring. I just don't care about the one-dimensional characters. Weak.

DeusExLibrus (#112), I'm thoroughly enjoying Johannes Cabal the Detective and would certainly recommend it. This really is set up as a mystery and we've just found the dead body on the airship. Think of it as a steampunk fantasy version of a country house muder mystery set in some country similar to what you'd find in Prisoner of Zenda

@jillmwo: Haven't read Prisoner of Zenda but sounds really good. Requested it through ILL (Inter-Library Loan) looking forward to getting it!

The Prisoner of Zenda is great! I'll have to find Johannes Cabal. It sounds great!

I'm reading The Slap, which is some different reading. I recommend it to anyone who wants to understand contemporary Australia through literary fiction. It does come with a warning - it has a sizeable amount of sexual references, drug use and coarse language, so if you're easily put off, I'd suggest not.

I just finished Cutting for Stone and recommend it as a solid read for those that like general book-club type fiction. I gave it 8 out of 10 stars.

I'm rereading Paladin of souls by Lois Bujold. If any fantasy lovers haven't read it yet, or its predecessor The curse of Chalion, get thee to a bookstore/library and do so now. Love that Bujold has an older hero/heroine in these books, not the dumb shepherd boy.

I'm reading through the Miles Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold. It's a fun series even if Miles is exhausting. He makes me tired by just reading about his activities.

Still reading The Slap. The book itself is good, but I'm wondering if I can keep reading about such destructive and hateful characters. I suspect it's having an effect on my mood even when I'm not reading it.

Winter has set in up here. Today looks like something out of a Brueghel painting. Snow is falling, and the skies are grey. So, I am up for some Russian reading, and the choices are, War and Peace, The Idiot, Dr. Zhivago, or Anna Karenina all translated by the immensely talented team of Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky.

All look good to me now. Any suggestions?

120 - GD, I've been reading through the Miles books as well, and I understand what you mean by Miles being exhausting. Right now I'm on Ethan of Athos which gives us a break from Miles and is about a man from an all male planet and the culture shock he goes through when he goes off planet. Cue much mystery and mayhem. I enjoy Bujold's world building and discovering the various societies she comes up with.

Reading Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold. Is this one of the Miles Vorkosigan series, or just a predecessor? I am enjoying it a good deal although I'll say Jean Johnson's Theirs Not To Reason Why: A Soldier's Story is better, but then again, Johnson had the benefit of all these years of good military science fiction.

My one complaint: I am reading a pdf on my Nook and because I can not fiddle the font size easily it is a bit of a slog with very small print, and my not so young eyes. Darn.

Picked up Johannes Cabal the Detective from the library today and already 60 pages or so in. Just as good as the first. Thevsteampunk setting, Cabal's black sense of humor, all here. The geography is revealed to be rather odd; both real and made up countries are refferenced, but it doesn't really take anything from the stiry any more than the lack of clarity in setting in the first one did.

maggie, Shards of Honor is about Miles' parents and how they meet. My favourite so far is the next one, Barrayar, which is about his parents and his birth. I quite like Cordelia Naismith :o)

Thanks, sandragon. I like Cordelia, too, and think as soon as the evening news is over, I'm going back to the book. Thanks for the orientation.

#124 - Pretty sure it is available as Epub not just pdf. But I agree pdfs don't work so well with ereaders.

Cordelia is my favourite too. See the series page on LT for where it fits in timeline/publication order.

I'm reading Singularity sky by Stross. Not one of his better ones so far, though to be honest if I'd known it was time travel Steampunk hard sf crossover, I probably wouldn't have picked it up because that's not my favourite sub-genre. Interesting enough that I'll stick with it and see where it goes. So far though only recommended to steampunk fans.

Thanks.

#122 Arctic-Stranger ~~ I very much enjoyed both War and Peace and Anna Karenina. I didn't care at all for The Idiot, although many people do. I haven't read Dr. Zhivago. (Touchstone didn't!)

If it were me, I think I would start with Anna Karenina. I did it the other way round, and it was quite a while before I wanted to read any more Russian literature. While Anna is not a quick read, it doesn't require quite the investment as does War and Peace.

>>120 GeorgiaDawn:, 123 Miles calms down some in later books - well, after A Civil Campaign. Of course, as these things always go, I sometimes miss his more frenetic self.

>>126 sandragon:, 127 I wish she'd do one featuring Cordelia again. I agree with you.

Just finished As you do by Richard Hammond of the BBCTV Top Gear team. The book is about exactly the parts of 'Top Gear' that I like the most, namely the ridiculous bits. Here we have a race between a 4x4 and a dog sled to the North Pole, crossing the Channel in DIY amphibious cars (two out of 3 sank within 100 m of Dover harbour), crossing Botswana in saloon cars and an interview with Evel Knievel. Highly entertaining stuff, and much to be recomended. Incidentally, the third of these belongs to the same world as the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.

Started Dr. Zhivago.

I started reading The Time Machine by H.G. Wells last night and my first thought was how much he wrote similarly to Sherlock's author.

#133 ~~ *giggle, giggle* So much for my suggestions.

Let me know how you like it.

134> You mean Sir Arthur Conan Doyle?

yes, good guess!

Just finished the Walking Dead Volume 1 Whether or not you've seen the show on AMC I highly recommend this if you like zombie stories. Its a well told character driven piece, like the show is, though there is comparatively more zombie killing in the comic, or at least it feels like it. This doesn't quite match up to season one, but the end, at least I felt, was significantly more disturbing, though I won't give it away.

If you like Prisoner of Zenda try Rupert of Hentzau - few people have heard of it but I really enjoyed it - why are the bad guys always more attractive than the good guys? Just watched Thor on DVD and enjoyed - daft but fun. But it was the semi bad guy of Loki that I wanted to take home!

Just (moments ago) finished The Raw Shark Texts and loved it. Thrilling and creepy enough for October, but in a very cerebral way. A nice break from the usual horror=blood&guts stuff.

139 - The Prisoner of Zenda is what Harry Harrison used as the basis for The Stainless Steel Rat books. I love them.

I picked up my hard back copy of The Art of Racing in the Rain and am having a Do Nothing But Read Afternoon. Just could not find the motivation to do any thing else but read in a warm cozy living room with sleeping dogs as companions. Bliss.

And the book is pretty good. Set in Seattle so lots of place names of course are familiar which makes it nice. The book is written from the point of view of the family dog but it is not a dog book, and it is not a happy book. I don't mind as I feel the need to feel a little sad today so the book is spot on.

I started reading Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway at the weekend and I'm enjoying it very much.

@pgmcc, I really enjoyed his first book, The Gone-Away World, so will be keeping an eye out for this release. Though, by the looks of it, you must have got an early review copy or something so I'll have to wait that bit longer.

Wyst by Jack Vance. I love the weird societies Vance creates in his space operas, it's like taking a vacation to a truly bizarre locale.

144 AHS-Wolfy. Yes, I got an advance review copy. I believe it is being published in February 2012 for the UK and in March 2012 for the US.

I'm only in two chapters, but it is as fast and furious as The Gone-Away World.

Prince of Thorns If you like antiheros, this book is a must have. If you're squeamish, go hide.

#121 Highly recommend watching the televised series. I had a difficult time relating to the characters in The Slap but am impressed with how well the actors are bringing those characters to life on film.

Finished Johannes Cabal, the Detective yesterday and started the Walking Dead Volume 2. The comic is a bit predictable at times, but still good. The tv show is stronger in terms of plot though imho. The comic feels too disjointed which is probably as much because the volumes don't seperate the issues as the actual plotting. The comic itself is rather cinematic, so its little wonder it translated so well. I read a review that called the series a zombie soap opera, which is kind of ridiculous imho. The plot focuses morr on the survivors than zombie killing, but the only love triangle gets a bullet to the face (or maybe neck is more accurate) in the first volume. The series in both incarnations is a bit of a no holds bared horror fest, including the kids and by extension the parents getting some of the worst, so if your squeamish or the parent of a young child you'll probably want to give WD a pass. Beyond that, if you likr Romero's work, you should give this a try.

Halfway through a great book - The Editor's Wife by Clare Chambers. Not at all what I expected - nicely quirky characters, even the most annoying of whom turns out to have redeeming features - extremely enjoyable and occasionally very funny.

Finished Rivers of London (aka Midnight Riot) in the early hours at work and have now picked up the sequel and jumped straight in. It must have some appeal for me ;)

Reading Book 2 of Dean Koontz's Frankenstein series. I obviously enjoyed book 1 enough to pick up book 2 so yes, I would recommend this.

http://www.librarything.com/series/Dean+Koontz%27s+Frankenstein

Trying out Neal Stephenson for the first time, The Diamond Age. Kind of a cross between cyber and steam punk. It's a slow build up of the world and people but very interesting so far. Just got introduced to the nano technologically powerful interactive book that will bond with just one young person and grow with her. Very cool.

I've just started Johannes Cabal. I'm liking what I've read so far!

I look forward to hearing what you think of it. I really enjoyed the series, but then again I like that kind of humor.

Reading Dragondrums. The trilogy is my security blanket.

In the midst of Occult America. Its okay, but rather workmanlike. Not something most would find interesting.

@153: I own all but two of Stephenson's books (though I've only read two) and The Diamond Age is one of the ones I'm missing; but it's also the one I find the most intriguing.

And speaking of Neal Stephenson, I just finished Reamde, and it was great, though (like many of his books) it's a massive tome that demands a reader's commitment to see it through. See my thoughts in brief over in this thread.

#153,158 I think Diamond Age is NS's best book by far. None of the others have been anywhere close to as enjoyable. It is still slightly slow, but not as bad as the Cryptomonononon series. Remade does sound like it might be more enjoyable.

Grand Conspiracy as a start to my re-read of Wars of Light and Shadow prior to the latest installment Initiate's trial. TBH this is not the best place to pick up the series, as the opening 200+ pages are 12 years of peace and quiet as various forces align their pieces for the next engagement. As Tolkein wrote in the Hobbit, such plesant times are hard to write about and seldom enjoyed by the reader. By page 400 it's quite kicked into high gear though.

A Massage Therapist's Guide to Pathology. When I took the class, I had access to an online copy, so in the two years I've owned it, this is the first time I've cracked the physical book.

I can wholeheartedly and enthusiastically recommend Visions of Sugar Plums by Janet Evanovich. It has a wonderful blend of supernatural, detective, mystery and hysterical funny going for it.

I also heartily recommend Goliath and the rest of the series of course!

There are Little Kingdoms is a collection of stories by a new writer called Kevin Barry. It won Barry the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature in 2009. I bought it on the strength of having really enjoyed Barry's novel, The City of Bohane, which was published this year.

So far I've read two of the stories, "Atlantic City" and "To The Hills". They are excellent. He obviously has a keen ear for turn of phrase and is exceptionally observant.

I just finished Blackout again. Gee, I love the way Connie Willis writes (even if the same thing annoys the hell out of other people).

finally onto Initiate's trial just under a month on from starting the series re-read and even that was half way through. There are a lot of words between there and here! Eery one of the worthwhile though. Really complex books, but without the overwhelming range of characters that you find in some Epic fantasies. IT jumps in some 249 years later than we left the last of the series, but little has changed, and those changes are fairly quickly explained. Meanwhile the tension and drama as as captivating as ever. Fully recommend this series to all lovers of long epic fantasy.

'Fox, I think you'd like Reamde better than Cryptonomicon. Very different from the others ;-)

I'm reading Cyberabad Days at the moment and this far The Dust Assassin is my favourite story. I might not recommend this short story collection but I do recommend him as an author to read. And that's a definite :)

oh argh! I didn't realize Cyberabad Days was short stories. Ugh. I hates 'em. But looking forward to my first McDonald novel. I have River of Gods up for this month.

Oh, I really liked River of Gods!
Cyberabad Days is a "sequel" to it, I'm not sure the stories in it would make any sense on their own.

I'm working on Mr. Timothy by Louis Bayard, and it does feel like work. I've more or less enjoyed three other books by this author and given them moderate grades (B to C+), and I guess this one is on the "less" side. Reading it really feels like dragging against resistance.

Perhaps it's because I have a certain prejudice to overcome in reading any work that unabashedly capitalizes on someone else's creation, even though sometimes it's done well. Or maybe it's just that I've read so many works of the Victorian period that the sound of inauthenticity grates on my ear. I will forgive a lot for a good story with an engaging main character, but I'll be glad when this one's over.

Apparently, I decided at some point that "why read one book at a time, when you can read five, seven, nine! oh my!" ... still not quite sure how that happened, but I've decided that I'm only going to concentrate on one of them (now that I finished reading four of the other books, sigh).

So, the one I'm currently re-reading is Society of Mind by Minsky, well, that was the one I was reading exclusively, until I picked up a book on my 'sell this' pile and re-read it this morning, Introducing Semiotics.

I might recommend the Minsky book to anyone that likes Minsky, Dennett or even Dawkins, but the semiotics book is just rubbish and it went promptly back to the sell pile. I like the introducing books because they can be a fun way to revisit a topic but the semiotics one is just a big pile of steaming NO.

#170 ... still not quite sure how that happened,

I know the feeling.

I've been tempted by some of Eco's books on Semiotics and I'm delighted you gave an indication on Introducing Semiotics. That may have saved me a few euros. Thank you!

The Disappearance of Lyndsey Barratt, a very odd book.

The Hypnotist - latest find in the Scanicrime section. It's good. Dark, but good.

Today I read The Simple Screamer, which is about making monster sculptures using papier and cloth mache. I would recommend it to my fellow Green Dragon folks, because selfishly I'd like to see the monsters everybody else creates!

With one story to go Cyberabad days ROCKS.
I can't believe I almost decided not to read more by Ian McDonald after I had read Brazyl (which showed promise but kind of so-so).
Still not sure if you need to read River of Gods first, though - it's more a case of "same universe" than "series".

#175
Have you read The Dervish House yet? I found it a real treat.

I read Brasyl subsequently and didn't find it as good.

The Dervish House is on my list, as is Planesrunner (not yet released here) (and even if I'm a bit hesitant at starting a new series when there's so many other books to read).

I understand Planesrunner is a YA novel. Some of the bunff I've read indicates that it could be using some of the quantum physics ideas that were in Brasyl.

One of the reasons I'm undecided on it, yet. The quantum physics stuff is one of the things that didn't work for me in Brasyl...

I know what you mean. That would have been my feeling too.

The Dervish House is much more definite in all that happens. The science is not the cornerstone of the book. I would describe it more of a techno-political thriller with the empahisis on the political.

On the basis of its content I recently purchased a book about Ataturk to learn more about Turkey and the man behind it.

I'm in the midst of River of Gods and definitely plan to read The Dervish House. Not so sure about Planesrunner

I loved The dervish house, and highly recommend it. River of Gods is on mount tbr.

River of Gods was easily one of my best reads last year.
Just sayin'.

#183

That comes as excellent news to me as I've had River of Gods on my shelf since 2005 and haven't gotten round to reading it yet. It has now edged closer to the reading point.

#184 - :-)
Me, I'm of to find me a copy of The Dervish House!

#185
I hope you enjoy now that it's been built up by myself and others.

(but it is good!)

:-)

#186 - Well, I feel the same regarding River of Gods, so... ;-)

#187 Fair exchange is no robbery! :-)

Keep well!

Exactly, and same!

>176 pgmcc:
I recently read The Dervish House and found it quite fascinating on several levels. The city of Istanbul itself was the star of the show, and that was an experience for me because I knew very little about the city apart from sidelong glimpses through other novels. This one made me feel as though I'd been there.

I had to go research the Mellified Man to find out if there really was such a thing.

It took me a while to get the hang of reading that book, but after a while I saw that I didn't really have to remember everything in order to follow the separate threads. I loved the way they came together in the end.

I've put other books by the same author on my TBR list.

I just discovered Bloomsbury Reader which is a line of ebooks devoted to bringing back titles and authors from past decades who have fallen out of print. I am reading Late and Soon by E.M. Delafield as well as Murder Must Appetize by H.R.F. Keating. And then I have an Edmund Crispin awaiting me!

pgmcc -
Eco's books on semiotics are ... good, from a certain point of view... but, like all studies of semiology/semiotics, they're still based on attempting to quantify something qualitatively, which has a tendency to become a big soup bowl of 'new words' borrowed from other meanings, confusing the problem.

Eco, Barthes, Jakobson, Peirce and Saussure are all ... good (in their own ways...), but suffer a lot of times from their love of their own thoughts (lol, don't we all?).

#192
kassetra, thank you for your thoughts on the matter. ;-)

A recent novel by Neal Stephenson, Anathem (yes, a made up word), has a great concept in it. It is akin to Occam's Razor. It is "Diax's Rake". I paraphrase, but basically it states: Just because you like a theory doesn't mean it is true.

I just started Progeny: Children of the White Lions by our own R T Kaelin. I'm enjoying it so far, but I got interrupted before I could get very far.

Jillmwo - I love HRF Keating!

#194 I think you'll love it! I did.

I'm reading Fate's edge and I'm a little disappointed. Were the first two books this romantic and unrealistic? I can't remember.

Next in line is The way of kings, the biggest/fattest/thickest (what's the right word here, for a book?) book I ever read: 1256 pages. O_O

If we're talking about fat books, I'm presently reading New York by Edward Rutherfurd - quite a doorstop! Very good, though.

#197 -- I have The Way of Kings on my TBR shelf, but I keep putting it off due to the sheer size of the thing. I'm pretty sure I'll like it when I get to it, but I just can't seem to motivate myself to pick it up.

#199 -- Me too! My 2011 challenge was (is!) 'empty my tbr-shelf' and this is the last book I read...

(And now I'm post #200. Cool! ;-) )

Once you begin The Way of Kings, the pages will fly by.

The Way of Kings is on my TBR list too, but only because I don't want to start it, because then I can't look forward to starting it anymore. And then it'll be over!

I still haven't read Elantris or Warbreaker or the Alcatraz series, though, so I still have plenty of Brandon Sanderson to look forward to.

The last book I read was Lord Foul's Bane, the first book of The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever. It was a good book, but I tend to not enjoy stories about our-Earth humans transported to fantasy lands (unless they're kids), plus the protagonist wasn't very likeable. I would recommend it, though.

The joys of an ereader. I don't have to worry about how many pages a book has.

After finishing Mr. Timothy, I've started The Meaning of Night: A Confession, by Michael Cox. I'm not entirely sold on it yet and am thinking about abandoning it if it doesn't pick up soon. Seven hundred pages is a pretty big commitment to something that might not pay off.

(Number of pages is not about weight so much as it is about duration.)

Or maybe I've just OD'd on novels set in Victorian London--a whole string of them for me lately, quite unintentionally. Perhaps it would be better if I came back to this after a break in another place and period.

#202 whether or not Thomas is transported anywhere becomes a central motivation for him. Even in that book he doesn't and can't believe that it is the case.... I thoroughly enjoyed them, dark as they are. SD is currently writing the third trilogy set in the Land. One of my favourite authors.

Darwin's Radio SF by one of my intermittantly favourite authors. Very very good so far, although you proabbly need at least a vague understanding of genetics to appreciate it. Aged well. A somewhat unusual take on evolution in action and how humanity could respond to it.

For the people who discussed Ian McDonald upthread I can report that a trustworthy source reports Planesrunner to be a real treat; a page-turner you want to get the next book of, immediately (not possible, sadly).
According to said source the quantum stuff is there but takes a back seat.

#205: Yeah, I can see that about Thomas. I'll keep reading the series - the only thing I didn't enjoy about the book was that I didn't like Thomas. That seemed to be the intent, though - it's just not a series that I want to read back-to-back.

Finished The Last Werewolf last night. I picked it up at the library, after reading several reviews and comments on various threads. I really enjoyed it, and would look for a sequel and other books by Glen Duncan.

@NorthernStar, I just finished a mini Glen Duncan marathon, reading 3 of his books in a row to now make 5 in total. I think he's a talented author who's not afraid to ask some big questions of his readers. Hopefully The Last Werewolf will bring him wider commercial success and I'm happy to report that a sequel is due out next year with a further book planned the year after that.

#206 Thank you for the update on Planesrunner. That will alter my thoughts on the matter. Of course, if you read it and report along the same lines I will be pushed even further along the road to reading it.

#209 - AHS-Wolfy - thanks for the Glen Duncan update, I'm looking forward to reading more - your comments on The Last Werewolf were some of those that brought it to my attention.

I have just started Planesrunner. For the record, I am of the opinion that River of Gods and The Dervish House are among the best achievements of the new millennium. And there are so few great books.

**still grumbling that Feed was nominated for a Hugo...**

2/3 of way through River of Gods I'm inclined to agree, stellarexplorer!

Nearly half-way through River of Gods, and I also agree!

And Dervish House should have won the Hugo.

Finished reading A Dance with Dragons and like many, many others I recommend it to lovers of Fantasy. Of course, if you are new to George R.R. Martin's series, you do need to start with the first book of this five book series.

Now we wait... and perhaps wait, some more, for book 6!

#214 And Dervish House should have won the Hugo.

Hear! Hear!

But then we're making the assumption that the quality of a book has an impact on the voting pattern for the Hugo; and we all know what assumptions do.

Just a thought, but what if we organised a LibraryThing vote on the Hugo nominated novels?

Any interest out there? If there is I'll set up the thread.

>217 pgmcc: The number of actual voters is surprisingly small. We could probably make an impact. You do have to buy a spot at WorldCon, I believe, in order to be eligible to vote.

Voting rights go to anyone signing up as an attending member or a supporting member. Also, anyone having voting rights for a given year has nomination rights for the following year. Attending member is general about $300 US and supporting member $50 US. As a supporting member you also get access to the Voter's Pack, which includes e-versions of most of the entries.

The Hugo Committee has worked hard to get the numbers voting up over the years and I understand the proportion of eligible voters voting is at the highest it has ever been.

When one looks at the shortlisted stories, goes to the trouble of reading them and voting according to quality, the results can be very discouraging. For the past three years I have joined as a supporting member to have access to the entries and make an informed decision. The results on the novels have never matched my voting preferences.

There as some who would suggest there is canvassing for votes rather than letting people vote on quality. In addition, I do not believe many people read all the shotlisted entries before voting.

I will stop now before I step up onto the soapbox.

I just finished Witch Light by Susan Fletcher, a very fresh fictional take on the massacre at Glencoe, nicely done, gorgeouse prose and I loved the particular way that the author made the people and the awesome Scottish landscape come to life.

(STUPID touchstones - epic fail! - how on EARTH does the internal code tag Bradley's Ghostlight from entering Witch Light - boggle...!!!!)

Finished River of Gods this morning and must say it is the best science fiction I've read in years. Loved it.!

Updating #204, I am 4/7 of the way through The Meaning of Night: A Confession, and at this point I would recommend it. I am intrigued by the complex interwoven fates of the principal characters and the question of how justice will serve several not entirely deserving individuals. Significantly flawed main characters who are nevertheless sympathetic are interesting to watch from the point of view of craft as well as from the first row of the audience.

The mystery at the core, which took a while to show up, has me interested enough to continue. I have no fault to find with the writing per se, or I would not have stayed with it so far.

Of course, this recommendation is conditional on a satisfactory ending.

I finally started reading The Way of Kings, I couldn't resist any longer! It is excellent, of course.

I'm rereading Montessori Madness since my husband says he's finally going to get around to reading it after he finishes A Game of Thrones. I've been on him to read it since February, and I gave it to him to read on a couple plane trips. I was very upset with him when, on the second trip, I pulled it out of his suitcase and found that his mouthwash had leaked into the top of the back cover. The damage is minimal, but this is a signed copy, and he still hadn't read it. It felt like adding insult to injury and rubbing salt in the wound. ~_~

He does have an interest in this book, so I don't know why he's been lagging. He could finish it in two hours if he were so motivated (and sometimes he is so motivated to read). I've had other people read the book (lending a few of them my copy, no less) and discussed it with them, but it's the sort of book I'd like to chat about with my husband.

Okay, rant over. The question was "what are you reading today" and my answer is Montessori Madness. ^^;

After going through this thread, I have decided that I must read River of Gods.

I'm still going through the Miles Vorkosigan books and love them! I would recommend them for anyone who is interested in a Space Opera. I'm actually enjoying the later books more than the first ones in the series.

I started rereading Narnia Christmas Eve, starting at the proper book, ie, the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I'm guessing most in this group are at the least aware of the series, if they haven't read it before. If you haven't I heartily recommend it.

Today I read Welcome to the Jungle which I enjoyed very much, only, as always with a Jim Butcher novel, I wished it were longer.

Also finished The Warrior's Apprentice by Bujold, which delighted me. I will be reading more of Miles soon, but am going to work on Herodotus for now. It feels so good to be reading again after almost 3 weeks of no time to read.

Reamde. Following directly for me after Anathem, this will make 2000 pages of Stephenson. Early on, but promising. And I trust those who have recommended it to me.

I started reading in several of my Christmas books, looking for one to grab me, big time... and... I found it: The Road is definitely a grabber. Has a hold of me and I can't stop wanting to get back to it. As to whether I recommend it, I do, but with a large WARNING. It is grim, bleak, and potentially depressing. Take good care before you dip your reading toe into this book.

Maggie, I liked The Road very much. It is definitely not for everyone. Glad you're enjoying it!

About 1/3 of the way through The Alloy of Law, first of Brandon Sanderson's follow-on to the Mistborn trilogy. Um, holy crap, this thing is fantastic! And it looks like he's gotten the bug for long epic cycles - he's planning something like ten books in this series plus another 10 or so in The Way of Kings series.

Didn't care for The Road. I love the post-apocalyptic sub-genre. I couldn't help but feel that a lot of the ballyhoo for the book was due to the famous author. Another pov, fwiw.

Enjoyed the Road as disturbing and nightmare inducing as I found it. I feel compelled to note that, for the benefit of parents of young children, one of the main characters is a little boy. Might not change anything but, as I remember, parts of the book do deal with the dad trying to shield the little boy from a lot of whats going on.