What are you reading ?

I enjoyed 1491 when I read it, when it first released. How the author broke the book up into certain sections and discusses each quite thoroughly educated me on several items that I'd not been aware of prior. I don't recall enjoying the follow-up quite as much, I think it's titled 1493, yet both are well worth reading.

This morning I polished off Down and Dirty, the fifth novel in the storied Wild Card franchise. Almost half of the tale here happens concurrently with the previous book, while the tour is happening abroad you get some ideas of what's taking place back in the States during these month. Roughly after the half-way mark, the tour is over and all the characters are back home. A few situations are resolved, and many more are started, leading to a rather big installment for the next book in the series….

And to make the tale last a tad bit longer, I bounced over to my Kindle and picked up a novel called the Atlantis Gene.

I just finished Duma Key by Stephen King. It's taken a while to get around to it, because I got the false impression from friends that it was very much like Lisey's Story, which I mostly disliked (I'm hoping the TV series improves that one for me).
It's a slow burn for the first two-thirds and then turns into a full blow horror novel. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Robots and Empire, final book in Asimov's Robots series. I'm nearing the end of my Foundation & Robots journey that I started a couple of years ago.

I also dipped in some other novels but haven't been in a proper reading mood for quite some time, so I could never quite advance beyond the first couple of pages.

The Atlantis Gene was fairly interesting, not sure if I want to buy the next novel in the series, as I didn't like the first all that much. I then read a freebie called the Vine Witch, and that was….well, I think it was more of a romance novel, so I'll not be too harsh. Suffice it to say I moved on!!

Now I've gone back to the Wild Card series, with book six, Ace in the Hole. This novel makes a change, in that it's not a mosaic but a collaborative book, telling one coherent story with five or six authors behind the helm. When I first read this book I was actually staying at the Omni, where much of the story takes place, and various other spots in Atlanta.

Originally Posted by Arhu
Robots and Empire, final book in Asimov's Robots series. I'm nearing the end of my Foundation & Robots journey that I started a couple of years ago.

Did you ever read his novel, Nemesis? It read it when I was a kid, and it was a favourite, but I wonder how it would stand up now.

Originally Posted by Ripper
Did you ever read his novel, Nemesis?

No, but I can certainly put it on my list for later.

The Storm before the Storm: the beginning of the end of the Roman Republic
Basically, everything leading up to the First Triumverate (Caesar/Crassus/Pompey), and the transformation of the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire.

I'm listening to this via audiobook, and it can be challenging to listen as opposed to read due to the multiple surname onslaught - "Marcus Licinius Deuvius Polemius was actually the nephew of Domentian Rancidius Bilus Carennus, who was sentator on the Optimates side of things, and actually blockaded the same legislation as Boreas Obvious Obstructus."

I think the written word may digest easier, one of those books you have to be "actively listening" and concentrating the entire time, and as such can be a bit exhausting.

So it's a challenging listen, and the way I'm looking at it - I'm gathering more about individual personalities than the various nitty gritty bits of minutae in the power struggles between the various people and factions.

I've learned a lot more about important people such as Gaius Marius, the brothers Gracchi, Sulla, and the origins of such important figures as Marcus Crassus and Pompey, and of course Julius Caesar. In that, I think it was worth the Audible sale price of ten bucks

Re-reading Dead Space Martyr. It's a guilty pleasure kind of book, much like the vast majority of Alien novels (which is pretty much all I read/listen to).

Originally Posted by DArtagnan
Re-reading Dead Space Martyr. It's a guilty pleasure kind of book, much like the vast majority of Alien novels (which is pretty much all I read/listen to).

Did my mention of it in the Dead Space thread inspire you?

Coincidently, I was cleaning out my closet the other day and found my copy of Martyr and another book called Dead Space: Catalyst.

Originally Posted by JDR13
Did my mention of it in the Dead Space thread inspire you?

Coincidently, I was cleaning out my closet the other day and found my copy of Martyr and another book called Dead Space: Catalyst.

No, I was already reading it - but I can be a very slow reader. I tend to read 10-15 minutes before I fall asleep.

This is an actual book, though - well an e-book - but I almost always listen to audiobooks, as it helps me to fall asleep

I've read Catalyst as well a number of years back, and I intend to do so again after Martyr.

Last night I completed Ace in the Hole, book six of the Wild Card novels. In this we see Hartman's likely final run for the presidency, and all that implies. A goodly number of aces and jokers appear for either side, and a bunch of nats as well, of course. It's such a fine book, and in some ways a bit more coherent than some of the earlier ones.

I started some space opera series this morning, I don't recall the name off-hand. I did, however, acquire books four and five of the Expanse over the weekend, so those will be showing up in the que very soon!!~

Originally Posted by Carnifex
I did, however, acquire books four and five of the Expanse over the weekend, so those will be showing up in the que very soon!!~

Do you plan to read the short novels too? I don't know yet how much it adds to read them before other novels. Some are about characters, for example Amos (The Churn) or Fred Johnson (The Butcher of Anderson Station), others are more remote, for example about Epstein (Drive).

Maybe I'll try one when I've finished with the 2nd book.

If they collect the novellas in some complete form and make them available that way, sure, I'll pick them up. If, however, they're trying to nickel and dime me for each and every single mini-book, then no, huge pass. I despise that gimmicky-pyramid scheme type of marketing books, just not my style at all.

Finished Caliban's War, next up is Abaddon's Gate!
Hooked more than ever to The Expanse series.

EDIT: It's sometimes quite off with physics though. I still appreciate the effort but I wish they hadn't overdone it, or introduced concepts as quantum entanglement only to reach the wrong conclusion (like its ability to communicate faster than the speed of light).

I'll skip the short novels for now. I'm not sure the authors wrote them or sell them separately to make money, it's quite common to have side stories in series. But you're right, I'd rather buy several regrouped in a larger volume too.

PS: I also started The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe a couple weeks ago, but I'll let it rest for now, not in the mood and it's a bit stretched in length. I read enough to see the '83 movie with the same title is a heavily modified and mostly inaccurate Hollywood product. The cancelled series was closer.

I finished off the first three books of Star Kingdom today, it's not a bad series yet I don't think I'll be buying the next books. At least the first three I got to read for free, so the risk was minimal. I believe this series might be aimed at children, though the characters all seem thirty plus in age, it's extremely unsophisticated writing for sure.

Not sure what's up next for me.

After having it recommended to me several times over the years, I finally started the Malazan: Book of the Fallen series. 200ish pages into Gardens of the Moon and enjoying it.

Billy Summer by Stephen King

SK at his more restrained. 100 pages in and loving it.

I've heard good things about the newest King novel, it's on my list to check out!

Currently I'm reading a true life story book, at least I believe it's true. The title is If You Tell: A True Story of Murder, and it's a super tough read, at least for me, as the tale is quite graphic and, like, if this all really happened, it's enough to churn your stomach. I will be going back to fiction after this!!

Finished the Daevabad trilogy. Overall not bad: I didn't care much for the love story but it was a nice change from your typical western fantasy fare.

Seeing the trailer for the Dune movie made me pick up the book. I read it when I was a lot younger -- late teens, early twenties -- and I feel a lot of the SF I read back then kinda went by me. So with the wisdom of age *ahem* I am looking forward to re-reading it, and maybe pick up the sequels (though I understand they're of lesser quality).