Reading at t'moment?

#8161 Salt-Man Z

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Posted 31 March 2012 - 07:41 PM

Took the day off sick yesterday, which meant I got some reading in. Finished off The Warlord of Mars; it was enjoyable, if nothing special. Start in on my preparatory reread of Caine Black Knife and am about 1/3 through now.

"Here is light. You will say that it is not a living entity, but you miss the point that it is more, not less. Without occupying space, it fills the universe. It nourishes everything, yet itself feeds upon destruction. We claim to control it, but does it not perhaps cultivate us as a source of food? May it not be that all wood grows so that it can be set ablaze, and that men and women are born to kindle fires?"
―Gene Wolfe, The Citadel of the Autarch

#8162 Use Of Weapons

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Posted 31 March 2012 - 08:48 PM

Reading the latest in Kate Griffin's series of urban fantasy set in London featuring sorceror Matthew Swift -- _The Minority Council_. I think that along with Harry Dresden and Felix Castor, Swift makes up my holy trinity of urban fantasy protagonists.

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#8163 Baco Xtath

Wait. What?

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Posted 01 April 2012 - 12:50 AM

Reading Use of Weapons at the moment; about 300 pgs in and thoroughly enjoying it . After this, I'm going to take a break from Banks and try some Hamilton and Asher (I've yet to read any of either). Well, those are my next sci-fi reads, at least. I've got a daughter due in about two weeks and I'm packing Lions of Al-Rassan as my hospital book - I've never read any Kay, though I did listen to Last Light of the Sun, on audiobook and loved it. Also, I'm currently listening to Way of Kings as my audio and I'm really liking it.

"Give a man a fire and he's warm for the day. But set fire to him and he's warm for the rest of his life." - Terry Pratchett, Jingo"Just erotic. Nothing kinky. It's the difference between using a feather and using a chicken." - Terry Pratchett, Eric
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#8164 acesn8s

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Posted 01 April 2012 - 01:58 AM

Congrats early on the incoming little girl. First kid?

Lions isn't the lightest of reading, it may not make for the best hospital book IMO.

“The others followed, and found themselves in a small, stuffy basement, which would have been damp, smelly, close, and dark, were it not, in fact, well-lit, which prevented it from being dark.”
― Steven Brust, The Phoenix Guards

#8165 Baco Xtath

Wait. What?

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Posted 01 April 2012 - 02:12 PM

acesn8s, on 01 April 2012 - 01:58 AM, said:

Congrats early on the incoming little girl. First kid?

Lions isn't the lightest of reading, it may not make for the best hospital book IMO.

Second girl. First one is now 2.5 yrs old and I'm really looking forward to the new one.

My wife had a Cesarean with the first so we were in the hospital for 3 days and I didn't sleep hardly at all; I read the Iron Council for her so it holds a special place in my memory. I've been trying to choose a book to go along with the new birth and it ended up being between Tigana and Lions, and I ultimately decided on Lions. I wasn't wanting a light read, rather something memorable and good.

#8166 acesn8s

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Posted 01 April 2012 - 04:58 PM

Ok, that makes a whole lot of sense. Lions will be great then.

I've got a 2.5 year-old little girl as well. She's awesome. Becoming a Dad was one of the best things in my life.

Back on topic. I'm moving along in my read of The Heroes. I love Abercombie's stuff. I don't know why I didn't pick this up earlier.

#8167 QuickTidal

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Posted 02 April 2012 - 01:30 AM

Reading TO SAY NOTHING OF THE DOG by Connie Willis and being wholeheartedly entertained by it.

"When the last tree has fallen, and the rivers are poisoned, you cannot eat money, oh no." ~Aurora

"Someone will always try to sell you despair, just so they don't feel alone." ~Ursula Vernon

#8168 Binder of Demons

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Posted 02 April 2012 - 03:49 AM

QuickTidal, on 02 April 2012 - 01:30 AM, said:

Reading TO SAY NOTHING OF THE DOG by Connie Willis and being wholeheartedly entertained by it.

I loved that book. While not necessarily laugh out loud funny, i was consistently amused by the whole thing. And it was a more enjoyable read than DOOMSDAY BOOK in my opinion, which was also very good but a bit dry.

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#8169 QuickTidal

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Posted 02 April 2012 - 12:52 PM

Binder of Demons, on 02 April 2012 - 03:49 AM, said:

QuickTidal, on 02 April 2012 - 01:30 AM, said:

Reading TO SAY NOTHING OF THE DOG by Connie Willis and being wholeheartedly entertained by it.

Yeah, I'm only about 50 pages in so far, but the prose is really approachable and the characters are very likeable. Some really cool ideas so far. I'm happily surprised by how good it is!

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 02 April 2012 - 12:52 PM

"When the last tree has fallen, and the rivers are poisoned, you cannot eat money, oh no." ~Aurora

"Someone will always try to sell you despair, just so they don't feel alone." ~Ursula Vernon

#8170 Hound

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Posted 02 April 2012 - 01:45 PM

QuickTidal, on 31 March 2012 - 01:14 PM, said:

Hound, on 31 March 2012 - 11:36 AM, said:

now reading Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. It's my 3rd try, but..... BLAAAH what a boring book.....

Yeah, that was a book I read and kept reading in the hopes it went somewhere...it really doesn't. David Mitchell wants more than anything else to be Haruki Murakami...but he pretty much fails...

even a previous book of his that I enjoyed (mostly) NUMBER 9 DREAM doesn't really ape the style well.

It doesn't? Good, then I won't read any further

I have another book of him, 'The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet', think I'll skip that one too.

@ Baco Xtath; Under Heaven by GGK is also very good

#8171 QuickTidal

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Posted 02 April 2012 - 02:39 PM

Hound, on 02 April 2012 - 01:45 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 31 March 2012 - 01:14 PM, said:

Hound, on 31 March 2012 - 11:36 AM, said:

now reading Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. It's my 3rd try, but..... BLAAAH what a boring book.....

It doesn't? Good, then I won't read any further

I have another book of him, 'The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet', think I'll skip that one too.

Yeah, you won't miss much, and if you are really curious how it ends you can just wait for the Tom Tykwer movie adaptation of CLOUD ATLAS to come out which I believe is later this year (Oct. 2012)

"When the last tree has fallen, and the rivers are poisoned, you cannot eat money, oh no." ~Aurora

"Someone will always try to sell you despair, just so they don't feel alone." ~Ursula Vernon

#8172 Jade-Green Pig-Hog Swine-Beast

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Posted 02 April 2012 - 05:21 PM

Oh boy, 110 pages into Endymion...oh boy...

The love I bear thee can afford no better term than this: thou art a villain.

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#8173 Mentalist

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Posted 03 April 2012 - 05:02 AM

finshed "City of Hope and Despair", volume 2 of the City of a Hundred Rows.

I like this series. it's a great fix for those who want more Bas-Lag weirdness, though it's definitely lighter fare, not being nowhere near as crazy. The story was all right, not quite as tight as the first one, but it's set up for an interesting conclusion of the trilogy.

next up, there's an omnibus by Andy Remic of a series called "The Clockwork Vampires Chronicles". i'mnot expecting much, but it was a meaty book, with a cool title, and it was 30% off when I bought it so we'll see...

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Jump Around, on 23 October 2011 - 11:04 AM, said:

And I want to state that Ment has out-weaseled me by far in this game.

#8174 Serenity

Saki!!!!!

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Posted 03 April 2012 - 10:18 AM

Finished Phil Rickman's Midwinter of the Spirit last night - enjoyed it, a pretty decent possession/exorcism mystery - and started David Gemmell's Winter Warriors this morning.

#8175 QuickTidal

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Posted 03 April 2012 - 01:33 PM

Nearing the halfway point of TO SAY NOTHING OF THE DOG and I've aside from being altogether amused throughout, I have actually laughed quite out loud a few times.

At one point when silly, fluffy Victorian maiden Tossie speaks to the dog in a babytalk manner, narrator/protagnist Ned Henry hilariously points out that the "dog looked appalled"

*snort*

This book is absolutely made of charm.

"When the last tree has fallen, and the rivers are poisoned, you cannot eat money, oh no." ~Aurora

"Someone will always try to sell you despair, just so they don't feel alone." ~Ursula Vernon

#8176 T77

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Posted 03 April 2012 - 01:39 PM

Finished The Waste Lands and thought it was good. Already started Wizard and Glass - I figured I'd dig into the Dark Tower with The Wind Through the Keyhole coming out in a few weeks.

#8177 kcf

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Posted 03 April 2012 - 08:05 PM

In the last few weeks I've finished up Arctic Rising by Tobias Buckell, The Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed, and The Wood Wife by Terri Windling. I got a review written for the The Wood Wife, but I'm still working on reviews for the others. I'm now reading Blade of Tyshalle by Matthew Stover - I'd forgotten just how good he is.

This post has been edited by kcf: 03 April 2012 - 08:06 PM

Neth Space

#8178 QuickTidal

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Posted 03 April 2012 - 08:13 PM

kcf, on 03 April 2012 - 08:05 PM, said:

I saw CAINE'S LAW in your ToRead pile!

Also, I hear ARCTIC RISING is great as well.

"When the last tree has fallen, and the rivers are poisoned, you cannot eat money, oh no." ~Aurora

"Someone will always try to sell you despair, just so they don't feel alone." ~Ursula Vernon

#8179 Salt-Man Z

My pen halts, though I do not

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Posted 03 April 2012 - 09:02 PM

I just finished my reread of Caine Black Knife in anticipation of Caine's Law (which I now see won't be delivered until probably Saturday. Grrr!) This was my third time through the book, and the fastest I've devoured the text: four days. I really wanted to be able to give it 5 stars after this read (as opposed to my original 4-1/2), but to the contrary, I discovered a glaring continuity error (presumably an editiorial overlook) where Caine ponders the origins of "Simon Faller" two chapters before he hears his name for the first time. And the "Now" portion of the book still suffers from Caine never letting the readers in on how he figures out his solutions. In particular, he has a random prophetic dream that uncovers the mystery of the Smoke Hunt, but the dream is never explained. Perhaps it will be addressed in the sequel, but for now it's irritating.

#8180 Abyss

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Posted 03 April 2012 - 09:03 PM

Library'd NAKED CITY anthology for the Dresden story CURSES.

Only decent by Dresden short story standards. 'cute' is about all i can say.

The rest of the anthology is living down to my expectations.

Dammit i need my fucking coCaine's Law fix NOW.

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