What are you reading?

Blujixapug

Anedhel said:

Just (re)finished Thief of Time. Terry Pratchett writes so purdy.

I was disappointed by the latest Discworld book, Raising Steam. It all felt so perfunctory: here is the invention of the steam engine, here is how the railway expands, here are a few associated inventions like railway sandwiches to punctuate things, plus a cultural/religious allegory. There was so little of the characteristic wit and charming prose that usually ties his books together. Characters were off-puttingly self-referential, specifically Moist. The actual story being told was more like a sequence of events.

I know it can be attributed to his circumstances with Alzheimer's and having to dictate his writing, which deeply sucks. But, yeah.

Currently reading the new Dresden Files book which is a little trashy but fun.

Jhaeli

I just finished reading a chapter in my psychology textbook about the sexual response cycle.

That's about as interesting as my reading has been lately, outside of Achaea. :P

Ayella

What have I read recently.... D&D 3.5 Players Handbook? 

I also read the Da Vinci Code a while ago and was having Assassins Creed flashbacks. It's a good, fast read.

Let's see, suggestion wise. Peeps by Scott Westerfeld (anything by him, honestly) is fascinating, a take on vampirism including a bunch of extraneous facts about parasites that tie in with the book. 

If you are a dragon person, I feel honor bound to tell you to go read Anne McCaffrey's Dragonflight and the series created around it. 

And the Women of the Otherworld series by Kelley Armstrong is intense smutty fun. That's pretty much the only way I can describe it.

I have no time to read anymore. This is making me wax nostalgic.

Ruth

Just finished reading Elantris by Brandon Sanderson. I enjoyed the book loads; the writing is very attention-grabbing and the magic-based plotline, while simple, is embellished by religio-political wordplay between characters that eventually intensifies into deceit, betrayal, genocide and more bloodshed.

Starting to read Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson as well. This one appears to move away from medieval-themed ideas of kingdoms, sword fights and the like and leans more towards a sci-fi outlook.

Jhaeli

If you haven't, pick up The Way of Kings. I loved Elantris and it's what hooked me onto Sanderson, but he's grown so much since then. Epic fantasy at its best.

Ruth

Have! I just about have all of the books he wrote. He's like, one of my favorite authors.

Jurixe

I'm waiting for the price of his books to go down before I get them because they're like...RM 90 here :X Which is like the cost of a full tank of gas.

I want to read them so bad though aghhhh

Ruth

eBooks! I r reading on my Kindle though.

Trey

 

Shirszae

Resurrecting this because I want more book suggestions. So get back to reading, you lot!

Kaden

So for all the Brandon Sanderson fans out there. Shadows of Self just came out.

Aereidhna

I've mostly been reading nonfiction lately...trying to make it through Guns Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond and Destiny Disrupted by Tamim Ansary. For fiction/poetry lately I've been rereading Octavia's Brood, which is a collection of sci fi short stories and Warsan Shire's poetry collection Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth. So good. I need to catch up on my fantasy to read list. Oh and my latest guilty pleasure chick lit was The Awesome Girl's Guide to Dating Extraordinary Men, it was surprisingly cute and entertaining, I'd recommend it if you dig chick lit. 

Suladan

Takeshi Kovacs series - Altered Carbon is 1st book. Was good enough that I got all three of the series. 2nd was so-so and I lost interest half-way through the 3rd. Gentleman Bastard Series was brought up earlier, definitely recommend that. Rivers of London was also good - and sequels.

Makarios

Shadow's of self definitely worth the read.

It has what is probably the saddest scene he's ever written in it though. Be warned.

Aegoth

Re-reading the Dragaera and Vlad Taltos novels by Steven Brust. They are absolute masterpieces of literary wit and style. I highly suggest them to any who enjoy very engaging fantasy

Kresslack

The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Jukilian

The Children of Húrin.

Tragic, to put it simply.

Jurixe

Makarios said:

Shadow's of self definitely worth the read.

It has what is probably the saddest scene he's ever written in it though. Be warned.

nooooooooooo what don't tell me that

Kondar

Right now, book number 4 of The demon Cycle by Peter V Brett. The Skull Throne

Nizana

The Alloy of Law, by Brandon Sanderson. It takes base within the universe of the Mistborn Trilogy, but is a completely separate series of happenings taking place in the steam-powered era. Guns, unique magic, cool things.

Aside from that, I only read textbooks.

Hurai

The End of the Affair by Graham Greene.

Anedhel

The Remains of the Day, by Kazuo Ishiguro.

I've read it before, but goodness, it's so British and excellent :O

Blujixapug

Jam by Yahtzee Croshaw. Meh. Interesting premise, that the world gets covered in self-replicating man-eating jam, but he doesn't really go anywhere with it. The apocalypse is mostly a background for a character-based disaster/survival story, but despite a bit of playing around with conventions, none of the characters are very interesting. Most of the dialogue is sardonic wit, or reactions to/setup for sardonic wit, and it's a bit internetty in the way it's written with lots of all-caps shouting. Not awful but wouldn't recommend.

The Woman Who Died A Lot by Jasper Fforde. #7 in the Thursday Next series. I thought it ran off the rails after #4; I didn't like the direction he took #5, and #6 felt really rushed. This was a return to form after #6's detour, diving back into the absurd fantasy grounded in mundanity that is the series' strength. The main annoyance for me was all the major (secondary) plot threads from the last couple of books that are still waiting for some resolution. #1-4 were their own little quadrilogy, so I'm hoping #5-8 will be the same and certain things will be brought back and wrapped up in the next one.

Eld

Aegoth said:

Re-reading the Dragaera and Vlad Taltos novels by Steven Brust. They are absolute masterpieces of literary wit and style. I highly suggest them to any who enjoy very engaging fantasy

Oooh, thanks for reminding me to check for new ones in that series. I seem to have missed Hawk coming out last year.

Aegoth

Eld said:

Aegoth said:

Re-reading the Dragaera and Vlad Taltos novels by Steven Brust. They are absolute masterpieces of literary wit and style. I highly suggest them to any who enjoy very engaging fantasy

Oooh, thanks for reminding me to check for new ones in that series. I seem to have missed Hawk coming out last year.

Hawk is pretty great! I couldn't put it down

Oceana

"La dame de Monsoreau" by Alexandre Dumas.

Shirszae

Anyone ever read the  Aubrey–Maturin series by Patrick O'brian? So far I am really enjoying Master and Commander, but then I saw the series is  about twenty one books long and sort of started doubting myself.

Aodfionn

Girl In Translation, by Jean Kwok. 

How the Irish Became White, by Noel Ignatiev.

Kiet

Aodfionn said:

Girl In Translation, by Jean Kwok. 

How the Irish Became White, by Noel Ignatiev.

Everything makes sense now.

I'm re-reading Wuthering Heights after not reading it for like 10+ years because something in Achaea reminded me greatly of it. It was one of my favorite novels growing up and it's still really good.

Szanthax

2016 budget... Hate life.