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What are you reading? (May 2015)

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Shelved Threads
What are you reading? (March 2015)
What are you reading? (February 2015)
What are you reading? (January 2015)
What are you reading? (December 2014)
What are you reading? (November 2014)
What are you reading? (October 2014)
What are you reading? (September 2014)
What are you reading? (August 2014)
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What are you reding? (May 2014)
What are you reading? (April 2014)
What are you reading? (March 2014)
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What are you reading? (January 2014)
What are you reading? (December 2013)
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What are you reading? (August 2013)
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What are you reading? (May 2013)
What are you reading? (April 2013)
What are you reading? (March 2013)
What are you reading? (February 2013)
What are you reading? (January 2013)
What are you reading? (December 2012)
What are you reading? (November 2012)
What are you reading? (October 2012)
What are you reading? (September 2012)
What are you reading? (August 2012)
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What are you reading? (June 2012)
What are you reading? (May 2012)
What are you reading? (April 2012)
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What are you reading? (February 2012)
What are you reading? (January 2012)
What are you reading? (December 2011)
What are you reading? (November 2011)
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What are you reading? (July 2011)
What are you reading? (June 2011)
What are you reading? (May 2011)
What are you reading? (April 2011)
What are you reading (March 2011)
What are you reading (February 2011)
What are you reading (January 2011)
 

Ratrat

Member
Just finished Gone Girl. It started strong, tapered near the middle and ended on a decent note. I bet the Fincher movie is better.
 
Andrew Roberts - Napoleon

Only a little way through, but seems fantastic so far. Such a gorgeously designed book as well - had to get a Kindle version as not to ruin it.

Literally came in here to post this. Got it this morning. Been eyeing it for ages, finally bit the bullet.
 
I'm around 60% through Ender's Game so far. I'm liking it more now than I was toward the start, but I'm still a little bothered by the amount of times the writer has to let me know some child is naked. I think I would like this book more if it was all Peter and Val.
 
Diddo! :)

It's not as good I was hoping it would be, but it's cozy enough to spend time with.
Loving the
Drood-non-connections-thingies he's put in there and all the meta
stuff is great.

The actual mystery is what I find is the weak part :/
Ah yes I totally forgot about that
the references to Wilkie and his books and such
 

The Mule

Member
Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson

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Nearly finished. This is my second time through. The first time I stopped about half-way through. This time I'm enjoying the later half of the book much more.

Next up, Permutation City by Greg Egan.

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Necrovex

Member
Just reached the halfway point of A Little Life. As always, it drains my essence. Looking at my next book, and I'm thinking of Going Clear. I have also decided to make slow progress on Silmarillion. The Tolkien Professor should make that journey a little easier.
 

Mogwai

Member
I'm about halfway through this one. If I knew it was this heavy, I probably wouldn't have started it. But ah well, no way back. Been at it since the end of January. With this pace, I'll probably finish it sometime before Christmas.

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NEO0MJ

Member
Something I like in Shadow and Claw in comparison to other books I read is how short chapters are. This makes it easier to pick up and drop than other books I read.
 

Mumei

Member
Something I like in Shadow and Claw in comparison to other books I read is how short chapters are. This makes it easier to pick up and drop than other books I read.

Oh, definitely. The Book of the New Sun does not require a lot endurance to read because of that.

As for myself, I am reading:

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I also have On Such A Full Sea and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn on my to-do list this month. hope to get back on track.
 
Just finished:
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It took me quite a bit longer than normal to get through both of them. One because it was so good and I had to stretch it out and savor it and the other because it was often so mediocre I rarely wanted to read it.

On to:
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ShaneB

Member
Just quoting myself from a few days ago in last months thread.

Thanks for the recs folks, but will pass for now. I'll never stick to something unless I post it, so I guess I'll go back to a security blanket of mine and read a survival story. Was browsing the physicals books I own, and saw this. I bought it for my Dad ages ago (like most of the physical books I have), and seemed about time I read it. Just something to kickstart my reading habits again. So much for wanting a bit of escapism!

Now reading.
Crazy for the Storm: A Memoir of Survival by Norman Ollestad
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Really enjoying it so far, and should be a quick read, exactly what I needed.
 

Mumei

Member
Just finished:
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It took me quite a bit longer than normal to get through both of them. One because it was so good and I had to stretch it out and savor it and the other because it was often so mediocre I rarely wanted to read it.

I hope you are talking about A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, because icarus has agreed to read The People in the Trees and A Little Life in exchange for my reading that!
 
I hope you are talking about A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, because icarus has agreed to read The People in the Trees and A Little Life in exchange for my reading that!

I am. It was a pure delight. A slice of life story where every few pages there was a passage that I loved so much I had to save for future reference.
It's really remarkable, and I only wish I had read it sooner.
 
Finished Fangtooth by Shaun Jeffrey. I really wanted to like this book, but ultimately didn't. The characters were simply too broad and the action too ridiculous. In a lot of ways it felt like a much weaker version of Clickers. It has a lot of the same elements. The main character relocating to a small town from a big city to get a fresh start. He becomes friends with a local merchant, starts a romantic relationship with a woman just before an ancient evil arises from the sea and attacks the coastal town. They even start with an attack on a fishing boat. Unfortunately while Clickers managed to keep the zaniness of its characters in check, Fangtooth lets everyone go completely off the rails. The locals inexplicably are overly superstitious and crazy. It just doesn't work. Bummer.

Up next

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This is supposed to be an homage to Hammer Horror and Vincent Price. Hopefully its as fun as it sounds.
 
Day 126.... not compelled to read.... word spren and bored spren do battle above me... so I read GAF forums instead.... signs of light ahead indicate near the end

*cough*

*cough*

Might finish ... in May....

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Nuke Soda

Member
Reading through Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan and if I am being honest I don't much care for it. To me (and I might be wrong) this book feels way too pandering. I like a little pandering, but this is like almost nothing but pandering, which is not so great.
 
Andrew Roberts - Napoleon

Only a little way through, but seems fantastic so far. Such a gorgeously designed book as well - had to get a Kindle version as not to ruin it.

Finished it awhile ago, absolutely loved it. And I'd definitely recommend picking up the hardcover at some point, it's beautiful.
 

ATF487

Member
Getting my Hemingway on. Finished the Sun Also Rises a couple of weeks ago and started For Whom the Bell Tolls last weekend.
 
Finished A Feast For Crows. I think it was the worst of the GOT books that I've read so far but I understand if people claim Clash Of Kings was the weakest. I didn't know about the format of the 4th and 5th books so I was frustrated that we weren't getting to the other characters,

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Started A Walk In The Woods. 12 pages in and I already know I will love it.

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thomaser

Member
Still on George Eliot's Middlemarch. Only halfway through, even though I started it in mid-February :-( But I've spent so much time on studying various moocs on Coursera (four-five courses simultaneously) that I feel justified in spending less time reading books than I normally do.
 

Jag

Member
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Finished The Autumn Republic. The final book in the Powder Mage Trilogy. Excellent end to a great series. Really kept the action and suspense going.

If you like Sanderson's worldbuilding (just see his quote on the cover!) and Cook's dark military, this is a series for you.
 
Just finished Richard K. Morgan's fantasy trilogy:

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Which I didn't like half as much as his Takeshi Kovacs books. His whole fantasy landscape felt like imitation Malazan. But it wasn't bad as such. The ending was disappointing but felt like space has been left for a 4th book.

After finishing a fantasy trilogy by an author better known for sci-fi I thought I'd try a sci-fi trilogy by an author better known for fantasy:

So started Glen Cook's Starfisher books and enjoying the first Shadowline quite a lot

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Akahige

Member
Still reading Area X, been too busy the past 4 days to read at all.

Anyone read this?
3OHfsdU.jpg

The Vorrh by Brian Catling

I saw it at Barnes & Noble the other day and almost bought it.
 

Mumei

Member
Still reading Area X, been too busy the past 4 days to read at all.

Anyone read this?
3OHfsdU.jpg

The Vorrh by Brian Catling

I saw it at Barnes & Noble the other day and almost bought it.

I haven't read it, but that cover alone would tempt me - and it looks like it's getting good critical reception, too.
 

Caode

Member
I attempted to read Star Wars: Heir to the Jedi last month but it was a struggle, such a bland book.

I'm at that point now where I don't know what to read, and I only have at my disposal a small bunch of books. Looking at my current (small) shelf:

The Cuckoo's Calling
by Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling)
Dreamcatcher
Stephen King
Doctor Sleep
Stephen King
Joyland
Stephen King
Gone Girl
Gillian Flynn
Sharp Objects
Gillian Flynn
Ring
Koji Suzuki
Snowblind
Christopher Golden
The Windup Girl
Paolo Bacigalupi
Live by Night
Dennis Lehane

So.. decision time.
 

Cade

Member
Fuck it's May now. I should finish both books I'm reading today and then move on to The Last Wish, the first Witcher book (short story collection).
 

ngower

Member
Maybe a month or two ago I put a bunch of holds on some books. Within the past four or five days they've all come through, and there are waiting lists so there's no option to loan and renew. In short, I have to choose between which of my babies not to kill. HELP!

Station Eleven
The Magicians
Brown Girl Dreaming
The Bone Clocks
Wolf in White Van

Currently about halfway through The Martian. Digging it but finding time very hard to come by as of late, so reading in chunks. Thankfully the book lends itself to this type of fragmented reading so I don't feel overly lost when picking up from where I left off.
 

bengraven

Member
I think I need to go yank these books out of the basement and have myself a re-read....

They're nothing like I expected. I was expecting maybe some deeper, heavy prosed Gene Wolfe like novel, but it's very dialogue heavy, action oriented. Funny. Funny as hell. Great names in a very traditional but awesome fantasy setting. I'm at the point
where they just met Raven...and btw, it's so obvious the "legate" is a female.
 

wamberz1

Member
Well at least it can't possibly be as bad as well of ascension. So far it seems promising, but
ultra depressed Sazed
is really getting annoying.

After this I'll be looking for another audible audio book, so If anyone has any recommendations i'm all ears.
 

bengraven

Member
Have this queued up as well if I ever get back to reading fantasy.

Fun thing about it is, you're drenched in fantasy terms (The Sea of Torments, Necropolitan Hill) but it reads like a really violent MASH. It doesn't "read" like a fantasy. Maybe more like a western.
 
Just finished book 10 of the Malazan series (second reading of the series). It's probably my favorite fantasy series, though the Stormlight Archive saga is shaping up to be fantastic.

I'm moving on to Brent Weeks' Lightbringer books since i haven't read the newest one and I've forgotten most of the finer plot points.
 

ShaneB

Member
Fun thing about it is, you're drenched in fantasy terms (The Sea of Torments, Necropolitan Hill) but it reads like a really violent MASH. It doesn't "read" like a fantasy. Maybe more like a western.

Ah well that definitely makes it more appealing.
 
Just finished the road, which was excellent. Among the best fiction I can remember having read. Downloaded the swerve on the kindle but have barely started it. To be honest my work and travel schedule may prevent me from making much progress.



Just quoting myself from a few days ago in last months thread.



Really enjoying it so far, and should be a quick read, exactly what I needed.

If you like survival stories (fictional) read the road. It's an amazing book.

My second Cormac Mccarthy and I think I should read more.
 
Didn't really know where else to put this.

Would anybody be up for maybe trying to revive the Goodreads group a bit? Like I know it still exists but there isn't any activity or anything. Maybe we could try to have monthly books/discussions again?

---

For the sake of being on-topic. I'm about to start Cristos Tsiolkas' Loaded. I have somewhat high expectations for this as I really enjoyed the film adaptation last year.
 

Necrovex

Member
I'm going to take a wee break from A Little Life, since Overdrive contacted me to let me know I can finally rent Americanah, and I just need a break from reading "The Story of Emotional Breakdowns."
 
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