What are you reading ?

I completed my first ever reading of Words of Radiance, which is book two of the Stormlight Archives. What an excellent read this was, totally elevating the established world building and characters of the first novel, then cranking it up a few notches! I won't spoil anything here, but if you've ever read anything by Sanderson before and enjoyed it, I'd highly recommend this series. Book three is out and ready for me to start tomorrow!

Finished rereading The Shadow of the Wind. A story about a story, never fails to grip me and drown me in melancholy yet all the same admire the story-telling skills of Zafon

Roger Zelazny - A Night in the Lonesome October

Don't know much about it, but it's a book wherein each chapter is dedicated to a single day in October and that's how I plan to read it.

I did finish the Stormlight Archive series about ten days ago, and simply forgot to update it here. What an ending, and that totally has me chopping most eagerly for book four, which I believe comes out in November. I'll not be waiting for the paperback version!

Since then I've reread Chris Hadfield's most excellent book, An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth. This was the third time I've read it, each trip teaches me a bit more about life, and how my own experiences fit/connect.

Yesterday I started rereading another favourite, Sarah's Key. This one is about the French rounding up their own citizens and shipping them off to concentration camps during World War two. Heady stuff, and might turn your stomach a few times, but very educational, I would say.

Harry Potter

I blew through Sarah's Key in two days, a tough but poignant read, one of those books you just learn something new every time you revisit it.

The past three days I've been re-reading one I've only ever read once before, The Law of Dreams by Patrick Behrens. This story takes place at the onset of the great famine in Ireland, and a journey by someone affected by that, and his travels to England and beyond. Most of it takes place in parts of England/Wales, what life and work were like back then, and how the average person got on.

My reading now will likely lighten, with a release of classic content for EQ2, but the next book I plucked from the shelves was Station Eleven.

I'm still reading all those free books on Amazon. You wouldn't recognize the authors as most are not famous. Mostly fantasy, ScFi, and harem novels. Yes you read that right.

A book about marketing, not very useful so far, but hope it gets better.

Originally Posted by Arhu
Roger Zelazny - A Night in the Lonesome October

Don't know much about it, but it's a book wherein each chapter is dedicated to a single day in October and that's how I plan to read it.

Almost finished, obviously. It's a bit weird yet fun. Incorporates various illustrious literary characters and Lovecraft's Mythos, written from the point of view of Jack the Ripper's dog. The story is going to culminate on October 31st during a full moon night. Incidentally there will be a full moon this year on Halloween so it's fun that the referenced dates are accurate like that. Only 5 chapters to go.

I did complete Station Eleven four days ago, and then immediately picked up another novel to re-read, The Passage, by Cronin. I've read this one a few times, the second book loses me a bit, and the third….well, I rank it up there with the debacle that is the sequel to Dragon Age: Origins. The third book is truly that bad, but the first book does such a great job of setting up the world that I've re- read it a few times over the past ten years. You are on your own if you proceed to the second and third books though, don't blame me!!

I'm celebrating Election Day here in the US by finally reading Idiot America: how stupidity became a virtue in the land of the free, by Charles Pierce.

The benefits of tidying up my enormous book cabinets is to get hold of some forgotten gems in my library. In this case: Dante's Equation by Jane Jensen

For the uninitiated: Jane Jensen is a systems programmer turned video game designer turned supernatural novelist turned gay romance writer. A varied career, that's for sure.

Her best known works are the Gabriel Knight adventure games, and this book has nothing to do with them.

This book is a supernatural thriller, and a surprisingly good one -- despite having a convoluted plot mixing religion and quantum physics for good measure and does not have a single likable person in the cast.

It looks like an easy read, but not: it requires your absolute attention and open mind to embrace all crazy-ass plot twists.

Want to read something in-between Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco (obnoxious smartass) and Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (primitive braindead)?
This is your book.

I'm reading book 6 in the Malazan series, The Bonehunters.
300 pages in, equal parts wonder and confusion.

Another detective story by Agatha Christie.

Polished off the Passage, probably the third time I've read it over the past ten years, and I still enjoy every visit. It does such a good job of setting up the world and many characters, and sadly the following books just don't seem to live up to the first. Having said that, I did start re-reading the second entry, the Twelve.

Originally Posted by Carnifex
Polished off the Passage, probably the third time I've read it over the past ten years, and I still enjoy every visit. It does such a good job of setting up the world and many characters, and sadly the following books just don't seem to live up to the first. Having said that, I did start re-reading the second entry, the Twelve.

I loved loved loved the first third of The Passage (the present day parts) but was pretty disappointed in the post-apoc SF parts. It's not that I don't like that sort of thing, I'm a massive SF fan, I just thought those sections were substandard as far as post-apoc SF goes. I could think of any number of SF authors that could have done a better job with the material.
I read The Twelve and felt the same about that. Haven't gotten to the third.
I honestly wished he'd just written a contemporary horror novel and saved the post-apoc SF bits for the second book - which I could have ignored

That's a good point, as the dystopian parts are, as you said, very weak. Certainly the weak part of the entire story, and where the other-wise decent world construction falls apart. I'm about a hundred pages into the Twelve now, and remembering why I thought the series fell off the side of the planet in the second book.

I finished the Twelve a few days ago, and boy oh boy am I remembering now why I thought this series went right off the rails. What started as such a great tale with the Passage turns dire in book two, and absolutely a crapfest in book three, City of Mirrors, which I'm about half-way through now. Thank goodness I've a new book lined up to delve into after I complete this one!!

And this morning I completed the City of Mirrors, the final entry in the Passage trilogy. Such an odd series, it starts off so well, and then, what a fiery car-wreck at the finish. I mean, I get where the author was going on explaining the villains' mind-set and reasons for doing what he did, but I thought it could be summarized in maybe three paragraphs, not in three hundred pages. Ahhh well, the first book is so damn good still, I'll focus on that.

Next up for me will the be the fourth volume in Sanderson's series, Rhythm of War. I'm about twenty pages in and already feeling like I'm back at home!

I'm reading the Imager Portfolio by L. E. Modesitt Jr. Longest damn name that is full of initials This is 12 books about a guy who is a portraiture artist that discovers he can create things with just his mind. All of Modesitt's books are slice of life tales with tons of exposition. Not action packed at all, and I have to be in a certain mood to tolerate his stuff. The guy is very full of himself in real life and that makes enjoying his books a little tougher.