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

[Geralt]

Finished The Blade Itself. Reading Before They Are Hanged now. First book was very enjoyable with some great, vivid characters. The pace is quite fast (after reading Jonathan Strange everything is fast lol) and Glokta is one hell of a character

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Bso I'll move on to my next-oldest-unread book, once I work out which one that is.

Now Reading Tainted Garden by Jeff Stanley, my oldest-unread-paid-for ebook, bought in April 2003. And this one I certainly haven't read before.

[rumplestiltskin]

Reading "Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal" by Christopher Moore.

I'm finding it hilarious but it's possible you may find it blasphemous. Be forewarned.

[Gazella]

Just finished Cinder by Marissa Meyer, a science fiction retelling of the fairy tale, Cinderella. It was a really good read.

For my next read, I'm debating between The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss or The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien. Both have been on my Kindle waiting to be read for quite a while. I've read The Hobbit a couple of months ago and have really enjoyed it but have never read The Lord of the Rings books.

[orange!]

I'm reading Quicksilver and really diggin' it, but I'm not exactly sure why!

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Gazella

For my next read, I'm debating between The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss or The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien. Both have been on my Kindle waiting to be read for quite a while. I've read The Hobbit a couple of months ago and have really enjoyed it but have never read The Lord of the Rings books.

A tip for when you do read "The Fellowship of the Ring": skip over the introductory material and jump straight in with Chapter 1, "A Long-Expected Party". You can go back and read the introduction and preface later.

[caleb72]

Originally Posted by caleb72

Now - back to a rather well known indie effort, Saffina Desforges with Sugar & Spice.

It's a very dark novel, which suits me fine and I've had it on my TBR list for quite a while now. It will be very interesting to see what impression it makes on me.

OK - just finished this one. It was as dark as I expected and rather unpleasant in many ways. The author very much making a point with this novel and playing with the reader's sympathies.

Sex crimes, especially those against children, bring out such an immediate and strong response. The author turns this idea on its head while taking a look at several different types of sex offenders through the eyes of the grieving mother of a child killed by a serial killer.

Mostly, it was a really good story and I appreciated what the author was trying to do, but if the idea of feeling any sympathy for a sex offender is abhorrent to you, you should possibly give this one a miss. I had a few concerns with some exaggerations introduced and some baffling continuity problems in the finale. Nothing ruins that suspenseful climax more quickly than, "Hang on! How did that get there? That doesn't make sense".

And there were a couple of those. Still - I'll be giving it 4 stars.

Next up, I'm tackling The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. I've had the omnibus in my shelves for at least a couple of years and it's time I sampled the trilogy. I'm hoping I like it enough to want to read the other two.

[caleb72]

Originally Posted by alansplace

I gave it a try and read the first 4 chapters which made me decide that it wasn't a book for me. Thanks again. Now back to my original choices.

You're very naughty.

[Gazella]

Originally Posted by HarryT

A tip for when you do read "The Fellowship of the Ring": skip over the introductory material and jump straight in with Chapter 1, "A Long-Expected Party". You can go back and read the introduction and preface later.

I once made the mistake of reading the introductory material of a classic novel and made a mental note to never read the introductions before reading the book. They always contain blatant spoilers, they assume that readers have read the book before. Why spoilers are often the case in introductions is beyond me. Anyway, should I skip the prologue Concerning Hobbits, Concerning Pipe-weed, etc.?

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Gazella

they assume that readers have read the book before. Why spoilers are often the case in introductions is beyond me. Anyway, should I skip the prologue Concerning Hobbits, Concerning Pipe-weed, etc.?

No, there's no spoilers - it's not that sort of introduction. It's all written by Tolkien. Yes, it's the Introduction and Prologue that I was referring to. I just think you may find it a bit boring, and you can always read it later. Since you've read "The Hobbit" there's nothing in it that you need for the story. I just wouldn't want you to read that, and think that it's an indication of what the rest of the book's like.

[bfisher]

Originally Posted by orange!

I'm reading Quicksilver and really diggin' it, but I'm not exactly sure why!

I have it on my TBR - so many books, so little time

[Gazella]

Originally Posted by HarryT

No, there's no spoilers - it's not that sort of introduction. It's all written by Tolkien.

The one I have has an introduction by Douglas A. Anderson. That's why I assumed it would have spoilers. I haven't read it so I don't know if it does.

[orange!]

Originally Posted by bfisher

... so many books, so little time

That should be the mobileread slogan!

[Apache]

I am finishing China Sea, another good Dan Lenson novel by David Poyer.
Apache

[CRussel]

Finished the re-read of The Name of the Wind, and now moving on to The Wise Man's Fear, the second in the Patrick Rothfuss series. I really enjoyed The Name of the Wind, but I'm finding Wise Man's Fear a bit slower going right now. Still enjoyable, but not gripping.