Hey!! Let's get some action going! What are we reading?

[caleb72]

Originally Posted by ucfgrad93

I am currently reading De Bello Lemures on my Kindle.

I really enjoyed that book - and his other novel - The Last Days of Jericho.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by kennyc

...
Started In Fact - The best of creative non-fiction and the first entry "Three Spheres" by Lauren Slater totally blew me away (that's what the first one is supposed to do, right? ) but really it is an incredible and incredibly well written personal story.
http://www.amazon.com/Fact-Best-Crea...ywords=in+fact

Just finished this. Some 6 very exceptional essays including the one above. Most of the others certainly good as well. I'd give it a 4/5 overall - definitely worth a read if you are interested in this genre.

[bcgirl]

Originally Posted by cassidym

Be sure and let us know what you think when you're done. I like it a lot from start to finish.

Sure will!

[alansplace]

Originally Posted by alansplace

Finished Hunting Badger which was a treat! I'd slowed down on the Tony Hillerman books recently because I was nearing the end of the series and Hillerman is no longer with us to write any more of them.

Reading Hunting Badger put me in a Native American mood, so I just began reading Jane Yellowrock 2, Blood Cross by Faith Hunter.

After getting up to chapter 7 in Blood Cross, I got sick and tired of the overall "Romance Novel" feel to it. Not to be too negative but I've abandoned it. This is definitely an unusual move for me and I was especially surprised at myself becaus I'd already read the first book in the series and had enjoyed it. Oh well!

Anyway now I've begun Fablehaven by Brandon Mull. It's the first of a 5 book series of YA novels by the same name. I'm looking to decide if I should purchase the series for my Grandson's Fire as a birthday present this Summer.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Somehow, when I wasn't looking, they suddenly released eBook versions of all the Ross Thomas books. So, I'm going to start from the very beginning with The Cold War Swap. I expect this to have stood the test of time, since it was always about the characters and the situations they put themselves in. And always extremely well written.

Half-way through The Cold War Swap, and loving it. Meanwhile, I read (via Audible), CJ Cherryh's The Invader, book #2 of the Foreigner series. This is a strange series in some ways. Long passages that don't really have much happening, but the main character, Bren Cameron, doing a stream of consciousness angst. Which usually I would avoid like the plague. But here, it works for me. The world Ms. Cherryh has created is compelling, different, and interesting, and the characters are consistent. I'm going to read right through this series, though I wish #2-6 were available as eBooks not just Audible books. (And yes, at some point, I had them all as pBooks, but they're long gone. )

[Cyclops]

Im trying to enjoy Mieville's Kraken but his writing style makes for hard work! Im halfway thru and not sure whats going on!

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Cyclops

Im trying to enjoy Mieville's Kraken but his writing style makes for hard work! Im halfway thru and not sure whats going on!

Thanks for the update, matches my take on him from the little I've read.

[caleb72]

Mieville is my favourite author, but even I struggled with Kraken. I think it took me close to a month to finish it. That's not to say I didn't like it - I did. But at the same time I found it a difficult and slow read.

Out of all of his books, it's probably the one I've liked least.

[GeoffC]

I'm revisiting The Sword of Truth series. Working my way toward the end of Chainfire. It's an overall good tale to read, though I feel the later books refresh the tale overly much with explanation that's not really necessary.

[Quake1028]

Originally Posted by Quake1028

I am currently reading Casino Royale by Ian Fleming. Only one chapter in, but good so far.

This will be finished up tonight. Still deciding what to move onto next!

[DrNefario]

Originally Posted by caleb72

Mieville is my favourite author, but even I struggled with Kraken. I think it took me close to a month to finish it. That's not to say I didn't like it - I did. But at the same time I found it a difficult and slow read.

Out of all of his books, it's probably the one I've liked least.

He's a bit of a strange one, that's for sure. I think his work varies more than most writers, and disliking one book isn't a good reason to dismiss all of his stuff (and vice versa).

I didn't much like Perdido Street Station, and it put me off trying anything else by him, until I had to read The City & the City because it won a Hugo, and then Embassytown when it was nominated last year. I really liked both of those, and there isn't a lot common to all three.

[DiapDealer]

When Mieville is on, he's on. All his books have parts where his writing really shines, but he doesn't seem to maintain that level for the entire book. They all seem to have parts that are a bit of slog, frankly. City and the City, in my opinion, is the best example of him maintaining a high level of writing from cover to cover. Perhaps Embassytown and Railsea are in that club as well, but I've not gotten to those yet.

Take that from a reader who still considers trudging through Mieville's sloggy bits to collect the shiny bits, well worth the effort most times.

[Stitchawl]

'Nausea,' one of Jean Paul Sartre's best works. And a good change from all the myster/thrillers I've been reading. I'd read it before, but at least 40 years ago. It was as if I'd only 'felt it' before, but not remembered it.


Stitchawl

[Cyclops]

Kraken for me is all a bit weird. Its an urban fantasy that is written in a choppy, awkward style. using fancy words to make it look cooler. It doesnt. Now its gone all Star Trekky. I hope his other stuff is easier to read!

[Fbone]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

When Mieville is on, he's on. All his books have parts where his writing really shines, but he doesn't seem to maintain that level for the entire book. They all seem to have parts that are a bit of slog, frankly. City and the City, in my opinion, is the best example of him maintaining a high level of writing from cover to cover. Perhaps Embassytown and Railsea are in that club as well, but I've not gotten to those yet.

I abandoned City & the City after about 40 pages. The jerky run-on sentences did me in. Also, I felt I was outside looking in. Overall, to me it had that low budget Columbo feel.