Books you're currently reading???

[monster]

Dana, read it.

I started out laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes, but after a while all I could think of is that she really doesn't like "us". She's very obserative and very accurate in the main, rarely unfair, but somehow as the book progressed, I felt an overwhelming disapproval/superiority thing creeping in until it got to the point that it spoiled the fun and I stopped reading.

[wolf]

The Power of Female Friendship - Paul Dobransky, M.D.
Funny that a book on Female Friendships should end up written by a male psychiatrist ... not bad, but he gets really hung up on his little charts and graphs, many of which are repeated over and over again through the book. Increases the page-count, though. It was a Christmas gift from a girlfriend.

The Girl who Played with Fire - Stieg Larsson
Book 2 of the "Millennium Trilogy." Better than the first one, more consistent. Makes it more clear that it's a shame that Larsson turned in the three manuscripts to his publisher and died. Wonder what else was in there. Can't wait for #3, supposed to be published in America in May 2010.

Devil Bones - Kathy Reichs
Saw it in the supermarket months ago, didn't want to pay $8 for it, know a nurse at work who reads all of her books, borrowed it. Meh. Offered canned description of Wicca straight off every teenwitch website on the internet, and a plot that started well, confused itself around a couple of corners, and ended badly.

[SamIam]

The Girl Who Played with Fire - an excellent read. The author's sad fate is a warning to all of us smokers - especially the ones who do not exercise.

[wolf]

The Kindle makes me do strange things.

It gives me books for free that I would never have read otherwise.

I just finished an Amish Romance Novel.

Now, as much as I like and am fascinated by the Amish, I am not one for romance novels.

My favorite authors are Andrew Vachss and Harlan Ellison. No touchy-feely-nicey-nice in either of them.

But I read this because it was free:

The Shunning - Beverly Lewis

And I was curious. I plead temporary insanity.

That must be it.

[Griff]

We should maybe start a thread on cheap/good books on Kindle. After reading The Hedge Knight in a collected works book, I've taken a flyer on the <$2 George RR Martin A Game of Thrones.

Tao Zero by Poul Anderson was a nice cheapy as well.

[wolf]

I regularly check the Kindle Bestsellers, that's where I find a lot of the freebies.

[Clodfobble]

I've been listening to Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Nivens (and Jerry Pournelle, but who the hell's ever heard of him?) on audiobook. Classic post-apocalyptic before the post-apocalyptic thing was overdone. Very entertaining so far, and it's aged just fine--you only get the barest hints that it was written in the 70s, mostly when monetary amounts are mentioned (like a "couple hundred bucks" being "about a week's pay"...)

A side note for LJ: I find the male voiceactor's female voices to be extremely irritating. Is it just me, or do guys find guys-doing-female-voices to be annoying too?

[lumberjim]

I read that one with my eyes, and enjoyed it.

as far as male/female voices go, i usually get used to it as long as they are consistent. I'm reading WarBreaker by Brandon Sanderson.....narrated by James Yamagashi...... Who I assume is Irish....... and he does the one character(Lightsong) in such an annoying voice that I hate the fucking character.....and it seems lke this character is going to be one of the main good guys by the end of the book.

[wolf]

Thunderstruck - Erik Larson
Same guy who wrote Devil in the White City, which I loved. This was somewhat better than merely okay, but not spectacularly good. Once again he tells two parallel stories, but the joining of Marconi's wireless experiments and Crippen's murder of his wife seems forced, where HH Holmes and the Chicago Exposition played out against each other much more smoothly.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardobe - C.S. Lewis
Just take it as a given that I'm reading the whole set, even if I forget to update posts here. I watched Prince Caspian yesterday, and was inspired to start the books again. AND I'm reading them in the RIGHT order (publication, not storyline presence).

[DanaC]

I'm listening to my l;atest Audible purchase: Whiteout by Ken Follett. It's really rather good!

[Gravdigr]

Just finished Richard Marcinko/Jim DeFelice's "Rogue Warrior: Dictator's Ransom".

[DanaC]

k, I am now halfway through Whiteout and I gotta say it rocks!

David tennant is the narrator, and he is always stunning at narrating novels. It's like having a full cast of characters, because he 'acts' each one so well. His female voices aren't remotely irritating ( @ Clod: I have found some male narrators do very annoying chick voices; mind you I have heard female narrators do deeply annoying guy voices too). Then again, one of his early tv roles was as a transexual called Davina who was very sexy and feminine.

It's a really tense story. And, i literally can't put the bastard down! My bath finished running over half an hour ago, but i just couldn't take my ipod off. I will probably have to add some more hot water to the bath to heat it back up again now.

[Pico and ME]

Sounds like I'm gonna have to get that one, Dana, I've always been a fan of Folletts novels. Ive just finished listening to Stephen King's Then End of the Whole World (and other stories), Terry Brook's Magic Kingdom For Sale (Sold) and Michael Crichton's Next. Kings was a lot of fun -Matthew Broderick and Tim Curry are narrators and I love those guys. Next was hard to follow as an audiobook and Dyan Baker does annoying women. I've loved Terry Brook's Sword of Shannara. This one was OK, but really doesn't have the same magic. Im getting ready to listen to Nora Roberts Strangers in Death, a mystery. Since my eye surgery, these audio-books are a life saver since I cant really read or watch TV.

[DanaC]

I loved Magic Kingdom for sale (Sold) but I've never heard the audiobook. The narrator can make or break a story I find. There have been a few in the last year that I've had to give up on, just because I couldn;t get along with the narrator. The Witches of Chiswick was one like that. It's a story I've been meaning to read for ages; then saw it available as an audiobook. Got it and hated it. It's probably a really great book and very funny; but the narrator was pants.

The guy who narrated Darkly Dreaming Dexter was excellent. Can't recall his name now. That was beautifully read; if you haven't heard it yet, I can highly recommend it.

At the moment though Tennant is my favourite narrator. His light Scottish lilt is just adorable; and when he does the character voices they all take on real personality and a range of accents and cadences. Most of his readings are of Doctor Who novels but he's done three straight novels too. Whiteout, Quite Ugly One Morning, and another one the title of which escapes me just now.

I'm planning on listening to Quite Ugly One Morning next, so I'll let you know if it's any good.

I haven't actually read any Follett before; but after listening to this story i am going to seek out more: either as audio or in print. Brilliant story teller. His characters are so 3 dimensional. And the action is very well-paced.

i've got another audiobook on standby that i got for mum and she said was great: The Truth About Melody Brown. but it's something like 9 hours, so am waiting til I have more time on my hands lol.

I rarely actually read books these days. I find my eyes closing after a few pages. From time to time I'll hit a reading mood, but mostly if I am reading it's for my studies and is heavy-going history texts. Reading for leisure is an increasingly rare occurence now, especiallly since I got my ipod :P If it wasn't for audiobooks I'd probably get through less than 3 books a year at the moment.


[eta] Oh! another excellent narrator is Paul McGann. He narrated Vurt by Jeff Noon and also some of the Sharpe novels.

[Trilby]

Hey - Dana likes something David Tennant has done - who'd a thunk it?

I read Devil in the White City - awesome and informative and creepy - the trifecta of good.

currently reading The Moonstone. digging it. After Austen and Bronte and Dickens (the trifecta of suck) this is a breath of fresh 19th Century air.