April's Fools and what they're reading.

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

Happy, Jon?


So here we are. April's 'Now Reading' thread. That most indispensable of topics on a board like this. In which we narrate our literary journey's to each other, in the manner of all travellers through all of time and space.

I'm currently reading The Seperation by Christopher Priest, an alt-historical world war 2 novel that won the Arthur C Clarke award and the British SF award in 2003.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Er ... shouldn't you have stuck this thread?

I just brought home Ghosts in the Snow by Tamara Siler Jones, and Guenevere, Queen of the Summer Country by Rosalind Miles. I'm reading the Jones first. The other one may have to wait, if Mark's book arrives this week like Amazon promised me.

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

Er ... shouldn't you have stuck this thread?

Yes. I've done it now.

 

[Leto]

Ok, back from sweet holidays.
Still into my Dune re-read - now the "God Emperor of Dune". The most romantic novel in the serie.
During holidays, I've also read 2 mystery books by Fred Vargas, "Pars vite et reviens tard" about a new pest epidemy in Paris, and" L'Homme aux cercles bleus". Good reads but the writing is not really consistent. I've read (or more exactly re-read) a collection of short stories (written mostly in the late 60s) by Robert Silverberg : "To see the invisible man" , a Jack Vance novel - "The Blue World", and Isidore Haiblum's "The Tsaddik of Seven Wonders". The last one is a crazy story mixing Monty python burlesque and jewish humor.

Currently reading along with Dune part 4, "The Weavers of Saramyr" and "The Ancient" by Muriel Gray.

 

[Winters_Sorrow]

well - I'm about 200 pages into Garden of the Moon by Steven Erikson. Never read any of his work before and I notice he tends to flip from character to character without warning (like GRRM). I'm finding it a 'hard read' to begin with as he tends to speed through some things like 'High House Shadow' & 'Warrens' without little initial explanation but I'm slowly picking it up. Haven't been hooked so far, as I was with Magican or Game of Thrones however.

 

[Quokka]

Im still wandering through the masterworks releases and picked up a few more second hand the other day, I really do enjoy rumaging through a new second hand book store. Reading Flowers for Algernon (Daniel Keyes) at the moment and as with the other books I'm really suprised how little they have dated, I always assumed that'd be a big problem for SF but I guess a good story is a good story. Also grabbed The Worm Ouroboros (E.R. Eddison) from the companion Fantasy Masterworks releases, Not sure if it'll be my cup of tea or not but Ive a very long flight comming up so we'll see Either way I'm still keen to read 'The lathe of Heaven' afterwards.

 

[dwndrgn]

I'm in the middle of both Sean Russell's The One Kingdom and Chris Bunch's The Seer King. Oddly enough I picked up both at a second-hand store thinking they would be something new...now that I'm into them I realize that I've read both before - some time ago. I don't recall much about either so the re-read is a non issue. The One Kingdom has some uniqueness but it also has the drawback of not really having a 'background ambiance', which means (to me at least) that the action takes place in some sort of bubble as the author hasn't really explored the world in enough detail for this reader. What I enjoy about Bunch's The Seer King is that the protagonist has a sarcastic/humorous and realistic tone of voice that I enjoy. The fact that the main character is a part of a military unit, with good descriptions thereof, reminds me of Mark Urpen's work.

 

[Tsujigiri]

I don't believe I'm actually reading the Encyclopedia of Living Faiths......

 

[dwndrgn]

Sounds like some serious reading!

 

[dwndrgn]

I've got three books going currently, the two mentioned previously and now Mary Gentle's Rats and Gargoyles. I'm only a short way into this one and I'm liking it though it is a bit dark for my normal tastes. It shares some similarities with Mieville's Perdido Street Station so I'm hoping it continues as well to the finish.

Now that I've said that I'm going to put the above three on hold as I just got a load of books from the library - mostly YA titles suggested in the YA thread a few days ago. Hopefully I'll enjoy them - whether I do or not, you'll hear about it I'm sure

 

[Neon]

I just finished the Liveship Traders by Robin Hobb, and have just begun the first book in the Tawny Man series entitled Fool's Errand.

 

[Amber]

I'm rereading the Foundation series for about the hundreth time, and am flicking through the Silmarillion

And for light reading which isn't sci-fi I'm reading Andy McNabb boks. Surprisingly enjoyable, fast paced with a lot of earthy humour. And I love the relationship between Nick and Kelly ^^- him sending Kelly (8) to nick some passports for them lol

 

[igneouscarl]

I'm in the middle of 'Wolves of Calla' by King and also reading 'The Stone Canal' by Macleod. Then whatever I feel like, which will no doubt be the next Dark Tower!

 

[Leto]

Duncan or Connor MacLeod ?
Sorry, i'm not familiar with this author. What's the book about ?

Currently started the second half of the Neutronium Alchemist by Peter F Hamilton (second part of Night's Dawn "trilogy"). Not enough Capone but at least Edenists are doing something now.

 

[Winters_Sorrow]

Still ploughing through Gardens of Moon (although I'm into Darjus-thingy city so it's starting to pick up)

Bad news is, I picked up a cheap 2nd hand copy of Wolf In Shadow by David Gemmell and now I keep dipping into that one!

 

[igneouscarl]

Ken Macleod even! I'll give you th eblurb because I'm only twenty pages in atm. 'Life on Mars is tough for Humans, but deaths only a minor inconvenience. The machines know their place and only the Absolitionists object. Until a young man walks into Ship City carrying information that jeopadises the future of New Mars' most powerful citizens'.

I was a bit dubious about this book but the first chapter was very encouraging. Macleod obviously has a good sense of humour.

 

[Leto]

One more author to track down at my bookstore ! Thanks.

 

[dwndrgn]

Duncan or Connor MacLeod ?

Anyone who can throw in a Highlander reference on an utterly unrelated thread is a good 'un in my book! Thank you for giving me a smile today!

I just devoured 'The Heir Apparent' by Vande Velde and enjoyed it enormously even though it was meant for younger readers. Heck, I'm only mentally 16 anyways...a perfect book for teens, especially those who enjoy RPGs and virtual reality stuff. What fun! I'm about to start 'The Thief Lord' by Funke even though this month's scifi BC book, 'Nightfall' is staring at me daring me to pick it up (I'm afraid I'll hate it so I'm being meek and hesitant about the whole thing).

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

Ken MacLeod's The Stone Canal is excellent! As ar most of his other books (personal favourite: The Sky Road), most of which I've read. One of the writers I'd be actively pimping here if I hadn't realised that no one listens to voices of reason until it's too late.

Over the weekend, I read On Wine And Hashish by Charles Baudelaire, the French poet (and translator of Poe). It's an interesting essay, peppered with anecdotes that illuminate the many aspects of alcoholic or hashish-induced intoxication. However, it is extremely subjective, and perhaps most valuable as an insight into the psyche of the first modern poet.

Currently reading Flying Saucers, by Carl Gustav Jung, a fascinating study of the collective and individual psychological implications of a dominant 20th-century belief system. Also reading The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Klay by Michael Chabon. More on that later.

 

[polymorphikos]

I'm reading a bit of Oscar Wilde (the Happy Prince made me cry) and thinking about starting the second malazan book by Steven Erikson, although having just read Stepford Wives and the Haunting is leaving me in less of the mood for it than until recently was.