Re: Current Reads

Algae Wed Nov 28, 2012 10:35 am

I actually liked the codas in Redshirts better than the second half of the story. And I liked the story, but the codas really made the book.

I read Cinder over the weekend. I really liked it - good plot and a story I want to know the rest of, but it's first of 4 books and book 2 doesn't come out until next year. And, I can't admit to pretty much anyone else, but when I looked up her fanfiction identity, I realized I had read most of her stories back when I was reading a ton of Sailor Moon fanfiction. It was really neat to see one of those authors actually write a full novel.

Tabby Wed Nov 28, 2012 12:10 pm

Don't forget to read the codas!

I read the codas last night, and they were great. The final one made me a bit teary (of course, it's well documented that I am a total sap).

Great book, I'm so glad I heard about it here!

whatthedeuce Thu Nov 29, 2012 2:56 am

I wish I hadn't read The Raven Boys until the series was done. I crave more of the story so badly. I didn't even want to finish it tonight cuz I knew I'd have to wait at least a year for the second installment. Pretty much grabbing all of Maggie Stiefvater's stuff at the library in the hopes that the awesomeness of TRB is not a fluke.

punzy Thu Nov 29, 2012 11:13 am

Cold Days the newest Harry Dresden novel. So many things happening! I liked it better than Ghost Story. Don't want to spoil things so I'll shut up now, but if any one else is finished and wants to say "oh my god!" a lot with me, I will be here.

VodouDoll Fri Nov 30, 2012 5:58 pm

I just read Cold Days too! So happy about how much the plot advanced. We learned a ton about the series's big bad and I'm really happy with how he set things up for the rest of the series. My one big problem was

Spoiler:

.

Putli Bai Fri Nov 30, 2012 7:25 pm

SQUEEEE!! I have Cold Days waiting to be read - it's the carrot waiting for me at the end of 1Q84, which I've been reading for approximately forever.

SelfAmused Fri Nov 30, 2012 10:06 pm

punzy wrote:Cold Days the newest Harry Dresden novel. So many things happening! I liked it better than Ghost Story. Don't want to spoil things so I'll shut up now, but if any one else is finished and wants to say "oh my god!" a lot with me, I will be here.

Seriously. I had the same problem with it as VodouDoll did, but OMG! It was so much better than Ghost Story, although it still didn't resolve some of the questions that remained after Changes. Still, it was a much more engaging read. Also . . .

Spoiler:

punzy Fri Nov 30, 2012 11:45 pm

Spoiler:

Whee!

VodouDoll Sat Dec 01, 2012 3:07 am

Cold Days:

Spoiler:

Binky Sat Dec 01, 2012 12:02 pm

Currently reading Jeffrey Toobin's The Oath: The Obama White House and the Supreme Court. It's interesting, but Toobin is way better at the biographic bits than the legal explanations of various court decisions. It's also quite political (Toobin tries his best to be neutral), so you will be gnashing your teeth at someone, depending on your politics. My favorite part is the info it has about retired justices - stuff I didn't know since they've fallen from public eye. I'm about 3/4th of the way through. If nothing else, I think I'll be slightly more informed about the situation before the next Supreme Court pick.

Menshevixen Thu Dec 06, 2012 5:21 pm

whatthedeuce wrote:I wish I hadn't read The Raven Boys until the series was done. I crave more of the story so badly. I didn't even want to finish it tonight cuz I knew I'd have to wait at least a year for the second installment. Pretty much grabbing all of Maggie Stiefvater's stuff at the library in the hopes that the awesomeness of TRB is not a fluke.

That ending...GRRRR.

Spoiler:

Other Stiefvater: I liked The Scorpio Races, and I also enjoyed The Wolves of Mercy Falls for what they are (and they're at least better-written than other popular teen fantasy featuring werewolves, imo). I haven't read Ballad and Lament.

Currently reading Jellicoe Road FINALLY. I cannot handle this book. I'm almost done and I can't even imagine what the ending is going to do to me. Next up is Shadow Tag by Louise Erdrich, and at last I got Libba Bray's The Diviners from the library.

big chicken Thu Dec 06, 2012 6:16 pm

Have you read Marchetta's Lumatere Chronicles? It's a gorgeous trilogy and probably the best fantasy I've read all year. The first book was pretty good and the second one is even better and the third ties everything up beautifully.

BreezyK Thu Dec 06, 2012 6:39 pm

I just got so excited about the third book in the Lumatere chronicles, only to discover that it isn't published here in the US until April! Boooo. But, yes, I second that recommendation, as well as Saving Francesca, which was my first Marchetta and remains my favorite.

Menshevixen Thu Dec 06, 2012 7:13 pm

I loooooove the Lumatere books! Yeah, I can't wait for Quintana of Charyn and April is SO FAR AWAY.

whatthedeuce Fri Dec 07, 2012 1:47 am

Menshevixen, I should be getting The Scorpio Races this weekend and have heard rave reviews of it, so I'm quite excited to give it a go! I tried Lament, but it just wasn't doing anything for me. The main character was a drip, IMO. Plus, I just don't care much for fairies. I love darker stuff, like werewolves, ghosts, and vamps. That said, I couldn't get through Linger. It wasn't awful, but neither of the characters caught my attention either.

inversed Fri Dec 07, 2012 12:08 pm

Jellicoe Road destroyed me. I am in awe that Marchetta was able to take a story that could have easily been over-the-top melodrama and render it so movingly.

Jude Fri Dec 07, 2012 11:15 pm

whatthedeuce wrote:Menshevixen, I should be getting The Scorpio Races this weekend and have heard rave reviews of it, so I'm quite excited to give it a go! I tried Lament, but it just wasn't doing anything for me. The main character was a drip, IMO. Plus, I just don't care much for fairies. I love darker stuff, like werewolves, ghosts, and vamps. That said, I couldn't get through Linger. It wasn't awful, but neither of the characters caught my attention either.

I've read all of Maggie Stiefvater's books now, and The Scorpio Races is still my favorite. I hope you like it, whatthedeuce!

Last week I finished the entire 5-book Fever series by Karen Marie Moning. It was interesting enough to keep me reading (obviously), and yet I can't really say that I really loved it. It's set in Dublin, as the main character Mac travels there trying to find the person or persons responsible for killing her sister. Shortly thereafter she discovers she's not your average human, since she's able to see the Fae. Mac starts out kind of silly, shallow and frivolous, and ends up becoming a superhero, who's still pretty irritating. Also, I think the character is a Mary Sue to end all Mary Sues. And yet I finished all five books.

Don't even tell me what that says about me.

katesti Fri Dec 07, 2012 11:58 pm

Jellicoe Road is in my top five of all time. Just a gorgeous book.

I'm currently read the doorstop that is Andrew Solomon's Far From the Tree. It's intimidating, and the introduction was a bit tough to get through, but now that we're into the stories of the families and their children, I'm tearing through it (as much as I can, given how dense it is). Incredibly fascinating stuff and highly recommended.

Algae Mon Dec 10, 2012 10:02 am

Who suggested The Rook? Because that was pretty awesome. The world-building is amazing and there's so much that could be uncovered still. It was a lot of fun.

ulkis Mon Dec 10, 2012 10:12 pm

Crossed by Nicole Galland. It's about the fourth Crusade in which the Latins sack Constantinople. It was was okay, but I read it in spite of the extreme modernity and attitude of the narrator, which kept taking me out of the story, but since I'm interested in the time and place and I was curious to see what happened, I finished it. Has anyone read any of her other stuff? The reviews on amazon seemed to indicate her other books are better.

naughty zoot Mon Dec 10, 2012 11:35 pm

Algae wrote:Who suggested The Rook? Because that was pretty awesome. The world-building is amazing and there's so much that could be uncovered still. It was a lot of fun.

I think that was me! I'm totally looking forward to the sequel I assume will be forthcoming at some point.

Gallifrey Girl Mon Dec 10, 2012 11:59 pm

I got The Rook out of the library for my son based on the rave review here (so thanks!) and he really enjoyed it. I would have read it too if I didn`t already have a stack of books to read, but I`ve definitely added it to my list of ones to get to.

big chicken Wed Dec 12, 2012 12:54 pm

Started reading Anna Dressed in Blood last night and I really like it so far. But then I realized it's not a book I can read right before bed due to the subject matter of vengeful murderous ghosts so I'm also reading The Alchemyst.

mialoubug Wed Dec 12, 2012 1:18 pm

big chicken wrote:Started reading Anna Dressed in Blood last night and I really like it so far. But then I realized it's not a book I can read right before bed due to the subject matter of vengeful murderous ghosts so I'm also reading The Alchemyst.

I loved Anna Dressed in Blood. I thought it was really well done. I understand there is either sequel on the way or just out.

I just started The Innocents by Lili Peloquin. I don't remember if it was here or elsewhere that I heard or it. It's very slow so far; I'm hoping it gets better. There seemed to be a ton of good reviews for it.

big chicken Wed Dec 12, 2012 1:38 pm

Is it Daniel O'Malley's The Rook people are raving about?

Someday I'm going to go through my book purchases and see how many books I've bought due to SF and how much it all cost. If we present enough data to publishers, maybe we'll all qualify for a group discount or something.

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