Books you're currently reading???

[Sundae]

The Grin of the Dark was very good.
No big explanation/ confrontation/ denouement at the end, but hey - that's why he hasn't been press-ganged by Hollywood.

Since then read The Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson.
She's not an author that has aged very well for me.
Explanation - I adored Which Witch - which was on my sister's reading list when she was ten, and I listened to Mum read it every night (then snuck the book and read ahead). I can still read WW today (I have a copy) and get the same satisfaction from it. But when I read a new book of her's, it doesn't have the same appeal. They are still medal winners, but miss the mark for me. Same as Journey to the River Sea - it interested me, but I really needed more... magic, frankly. That's why I still read children's books (that and I want to write one, one day, yawn, yawn, yawn like everyone else who works in an office). I knew her first as a fantasy author.

Diana Wynne Jones however, can still engage me in her stories. Perhaps because when I first read some of them, they left me exhilarated but slightly baffled, like someone falling into a bear-trap, because they were above my reading age. Even now I am amazed at the complexity of some of the books I simply swallowed whole. Sheri S Tepper can do that to me now in an adult was, but I rarely fnid her books.

Also read an Anthony Horowitz book for the first time. Raven's Gate (The Gatekeepers). Simplistic - probably written for boys rather than girls, but an interesting premise. Fantasy and magic warefare don't need to be set in Olde Englande - they can be right here right now with fish & chip shops and takeaway Chinese. Completely British (this first one was anyway) but good fun. Reasonably densely plotted without too much lyricism. A great book for a boy who doesn't really read - esp because England will already seem like a far off land to a Merkin child.

Just started Geisha of Gion: The Memoir of Mineko Iwasaki. Interesting to hear the truth after reading Memoirs of a Geisha, but hardly a challenging read. No dedicated charity bookshops in Aylesbury either I'm afraid. I get what I can.

[DanaC]

Sundae, have you ever read Joe Abercrombie's books?
The First Law trilogy.

Here's an extract from part one: The Blade Itself. If it grabs you let me know and I'll post you the trilogy


It's a pretty long sample, the first 63 pages of the book (including cover, title pages, imprint, blank pages between sections etc)

http://www.joeabercrombie.com/downlo...eItself_US.pdf

This is the best debut I've seen in ages in the fantasy genre. I love his writing style. Normally, I skim descriptions of battles, for example, I find it hard to sort the details in my head and get bored by them. In Abercrombie's books, I am totally there and can see the battle unfold. The characters are complex and there's a good deal of moral ambiguity. It's fast-paced but balances that with beautifully indepth characterisation: his writing changes subtly depending on which character he's following, he incorporates their ideosyncracies into the narration without battering you over the head with them. So much so, it really gets you inside that character's internal world. It also has an epic feel to it; managing to convey a sense of long historical forces without boring the reader to tears with history lessons.

It's dark, human and funny. It's also vicious and compelling.

I'd recommend it to anyone looking for something a bit fresh in fantasy.

[Juniper]

I wanted to read something fun and fluffy over winter break, but doesn't look like I'm going to get to. I've got quite the reading list for next quarter -- let's see:
Graceland - Chris Abani
An Indian Story - August English
Dubliners - James Joyce
Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini (already read that one)

I guess there's still time if I find a good one. I like historical fiction with a bit of romance. I should like Philippa Gregory, I guess, but never got into it. Maybe I'll give her another try.

Fear of Flying -- LOL, Erica Jong was my first literary "turn-on." I felt so naughty reading her books and couldn't believe they were at the public library.

Piers Anthony - also in agreement with stated opinions - I did enjoy the Incarnations series, but that was back in high school. I doubt I'd be able to stick with it now.

[wolf]

Originally Posted by Urbane Guerrilla

One exception I can think of to the above is Zelazny's Amber, though I got much more of a stylistic kick from the first part of it than the second part/second series. Where Zelazny went right was that he took his time -- years between books, with other novels intervening, letting ideas and themes germinate, incubate, and flower instead of giving us a line of potboilers. Zelazny always did have the sensibilities of a poet. He didn't rush. Good publishing contracts, maybe.

I'm in agreement with you on Zelazny's Amber.

I also hold a high opinion of Larry Niven's Known Space books, which are for the most part shared universe rather than series stories, although, of course, there are exceptions ... like the Ringworld books that seem to appear from out of nowhere every couple years.

[rockerreds]

Barbara Gowdy-Helpless

[wolf]

Anathem - Neal Stephenson

This is the kind of book that I really like. You really don't get the whole story until the end. He builds the development of both the characters and the world somewhat slowly, giving you a chance to savor everything. The world is complex, and there are tantilizing hints that draw you through it. Just when you think you've got it figured out, something happens in a not at all contrived way to cause you to shift your impressions. There is a lot of philosophical discussion that goes on amongst the characters, some of which is of the "sufficiently confusing to make your head hurt" variety. I've read other Stephenson, my favorites are his shorter novels, Snow Crash and The Diamond Age. Might put those on my to be reread pile.

I'd like to hear from folks who have finished the Baroque Cycle ... should I or shouldn't I? Please, don't drop any spoilers, I'm just looking for a general impression.

Of course, I read this on my Kindle. Love it!! Everyone please buy one so that it remains on the market and they keep supporting the format.

Also have finished The Ezekiel Option - Joel Rosenberg, a political thriller for the Left Behind crowd. I've read the first two books in that series as well. The proselytizing wasn't quite so heavy handed in the earlier novels.

Just started Spook Country - William Gibson

Trying to cram in Elemental Witch by Tammy Sullivan, because I'm thinking of offering it to my student.

[Griff]

Originally Posted by wolf

.

I'd like to hear from folks who have finished the Baroque Cycle ... should I or shouldn't I? Please, don't drop any spoilers, I'm just looking for a general impression.

Do it. I got a little distracted during book two, but book three was solid.

[Trilby]

Nora Ephron - I Feel Bad About My Neck (more Crone Work)

I've got to stop looking at what everyone is reading. It sends me to amazon where I then spend all my christmas money.

[glatt]

Originally Posted by wolf

I'd like to hear from folks who have finished the Baroque Cycle ... should I or shouldn't I? Please, don't drop any spoilers, I'm just looking for a general impression.

Yes, I would recommend the Baroque style, although not strongly. I liked Diamond Age, Snow Crash, and Cryptonomicron a lot. There are parts of the Baroque Cycle that are extremely appealing, and parts where it gets bogged down and you wonder why you are reading it. I kept a 3x5 index card to use as a bookmark, and I listed new characters as they came up and put very brief notes about them next to their name so I could remember who they were. I filled the fronts and backs of 3 index cards as I went through the Cycle. There are a lot of people to keep track of. Many of them come into the story and then leave a chapter or two later, but some stick around for the whole Cycle and must be remembered.

You will learn a lot about history. I was just watching this thing last night on PBS about coffee, and they were talking about when the Sultan was laying siege to Veinna and how coffee was introduced to Europe at that time. I could picture the battle for Veinna, because it's a major scene in the first book. I'd never heard of it before then.

[Shawnee123]

Originally Posted by Juniper

I wanted to read something fun and fluffy over winter break, but doesn't look like I'm going to get to. I've got quite the reading list for next quarter -- let's see:
Graceland - Chris Abani
An Indian Story - August English
Dubliners - James Joyce
Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini (already read that one)

I guess there's still time if I find a good one. I like historical fiction with a bit of romance. I should like Philippa Gregory, I guess, but never got into it. Maybe I'll give her another try.

Fear of Flying -- LOL, Erica Jong was my first literary "turn-on." I felt so naughty reading her books and couldn't believe they were at the public library.

Piers Anthony - also in agreement with stated opinions - I did enjoy the Incarnations series, but that was back in high school. I doubt I'd be able to stick with it now.

If you liked The Kite Runner I would recommend you read A Thousand Splendid Suns (also by Hosseini.) Suns focuses on women in Afghanistan rather than men. I liked them both very much.

[Clodfobble]

Originally Posted by wolf

I'd like to hear from folks who have finished the Baroque Cycle ... should I or shouldn't I? Please, don't drop any spoilers, I'm just looking for a general impression.

Definitely do, if you're liking Anathem. My general understanding (though I haven't read it yet) is that Anathem goes farther along the writing-style path that he started with the Baroque Cycle. It's not at all like Snow Crash or Diamond Age, but I'd put Cryptonomicon about halfway between his old stuff and his new stuff.

[Aliantha]

I'm reading Bryce Courtenay's new book, 'Fishing for Stars'.

I'm not really liking it much. Definitely not one of his best in my opinion. It's like he had to come up with a story to meet some publishers deadline or contract and it was the best he could do. Even the language in the book is boring.

Uninspiring.

[wolf]

The Jungle Books - Rudyard Kipling

One of my favorites. Every couple of years I decide to reread it.

And it cost me under a buck on the Kindle.

I also got a complete Sherlock Holmes for about that.

[DanaC]

My Dad's just bought my 10 year old niece the complete Belgariad. God I loved that sequence! I wish I'd never read it so I could borrow it and read it again for the first time lol.

[wolf]

The Christmas Sweater - Glenn Beck