The All-New Singing and Dancing October Reading Thread!

[Grimward]

Just finished the Children of Hurin by Tolkien, which I really enjoyed, and whittled this part of my too read pile down so following Fool's Errand by Robin Hobb, I shall have one book left!!! However a replacement pile has already been put together from my master pile and the whole process shall begin again!!

I guess you'll have no choice but to join Tolkien Trivia now, Perp!

For myself, in keeping with the season I'm re-reading A Night in the Lonesome October by Zelazny. And not to worry; only the Grimlets are singing and dancing.....

*Grim's Groaning Chorus breathes a collective sigh of relief*

Next up? The Elves of Cintra by Terry Brooks

Oh, and congrats on 6K, Your Greenness.

 

[j d worthington]

J.D. : You just wait, you will be quite......suprised .

You've got me curious... but I've a suspicion forming in my little noggin on that one.... And I quite like the way that the Golem, though playing little actual part in the tale proper, permeates the novel so far. His presence is felt throughout, and the atmosphere of the whole is exceptionally good....

Oh and guess what, I'm currently reading your favourite Derleth story, know which that it ?

Eh? No idea, really. If it is one of his Lovecraftian pastiches (or "posthumous collaborations", which largely add up to the same thing), there are quite a lot of those about which I feel less than enthusiastic... though liking certain elements in them.

For myself, in keeping with the season I'm re-reading A Night in the Lonesome October by Zelazny.

Now, that's a nifty little book for the month. Quite an oddity, but definitely has its own charm. I need to find a replacement copy at some point....

 

[Grimward]

Quite agree, JD. Am reading it to my kids (who are now old enough to enjoy the suspense w/o bad dreams!), a night at a time, which of course is how it's written.

 

[Talysia]

After an early - and very much appreciated - birthday present from my family, I'm currently reading Terry Pratchett's Unseen Academicals.

 

[Rosemary]

I'm re-reading Feast of Souls by Celia Friedman, while I am still waiting for the next Malazan to hit the book shop!

 

[Fried Egg]

Just finished "The Mist" by Stephen King. Not really my cup of tea really. His style is too wooden and full of cliche characters and situations that leave me cringing.

 

[Lobolover]

J.D. : try thinking a little harder . You mentioned it once to me and had qui-te alot of thinks to say about it .

 

[j d worthington]

J.D. : try thinking a little harder . You mentioned it once to me and had qui-te alot of thinks to say about it .

To be honest, Lobo -- my memory is far from what it used to be (more's the pity), and really don't recall the conversation....

 

[Lobolover]

In the pastiche thread

 

[j d worthington]

Okay, Lobo; gotcha: "The Whippoorwills in the Hills", yes? Mmm. Well, yes, that is one about which I have some rather strong gripes, but to a large extent, I'll have to plead that Derleth followed the same formula so damned often, that they sort of blur after a while. They've all (or nearly all) got some nice touches here and there; but, as I said there, they're so formulaic that it robs them of nearly all their possibilities. Bloch really was right about the notes and the music. Pity, as Derleth could write quite well when he'd a mind, and even some of his supernatural fiction is rather well done....

 

[Rodders]

Just finished Daemon in more or less one sitting. It wasn't too bad for a first book. Left open for a sequel. It'll never set the SF or literary world alight but it was a solid enough read. A great one for you travels too and from work.

I'll read The Last Watch next by Sergei Lukyanenko. Looking forward to this one.

 

[Lobolover]

Finished "The Whipporwills in the Hills" by Derleth . I have to say that while I found the ending abrupt after a more or less manageble flow of story, it was overall not as bad, though it realy seemed like a study for "Lurker at the Threshold" (though the book was written before the story) and there is also the bit about "becoming the person who died/dissapeared" from Peabody heritage (which I am not 100% sure is not in "Lurker" as well) . Now on to "Something in Wood" . Most of it , until now, seems rather mediocre, though not bad as in realy bad, but f*** me up and elect me for president if the opening paragraph isn't a watered down version of the "The most mercifull thing in the world....." line from Call of Cthulhu .

 

[Hypnos164]

Finished Practical Demonkeeping by Christopher Moore ... meh - early work, he clearly improved with practice; at least it was short.

 

[LaMattie]

Finished Tigana.
Started Renegade's Magic.

 

[gully_foyle]

Finished Transition by Iain Banks. I keep meaning to add a review of it, but haven't had the time. Let's say it's good, but not awesome like his hard SF. It's not an M book either, as it is more urban fantasy than SF. Similar themes and characterisations to his Culture books though.

I'm now reading The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffesomething. I got to the airport yesterday and realised I hadn't taken what was meant to be my current read, so I picked this one up at the bookshop after noting a few favourable comments on it here. So far I am having trouble putting it down and would much rather sit in my hotel room reading it than traipsing around in Canberra's rain going to meetings.

 

[GOLLUM]

Well I'm just starting on a litle known Russian writer from the '20s. The collection is called Memories Of Future and the author Sigizmund Krzhizhanvsky. Too subversive to expose to a publisher when written in the 1920s his stories only began to see publication in the late 80's and only recently have they been translated into English Sigzimunsd is now being viewed as one of the great Russian writers of the 20th Century.

The stories include:
A man loses his way in the vast black waste of his own small room
The Eiffel Tower runs amok
A kind soul dreams of selling "everything you need for suicide"
An absentminded passenger boards the wrong train, winding up in a place where night is day, nightmares are the reality, and the backs of all facts have been broken
A man out looking for work comes across a line for logic but doesn't join it as there's no guarantee the logic will last
A sociable corpse misses his own funeral
An inventor gets a glimpse of the far-from-radiant communist future.

These works are clearly quite satirical with a weird element to them so I'll post my thoughts once I've finished reading them.

 

[AE35Unit]

I'm now reading The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffesomething. I got to the airport yesterday and realised I hadn't taken what was meant to be my current read, so I picked this one up at the bookshop after noting a few favourable comments on it here. So far I am having trouble putting it down and would much rather sit in my hotel room reading it than traipsing around in Canberra's rain going to meetings.

What? Rain? But I thought it was perpetually sunny in Oz! The rain is our speciality!

 

[Nikitta]

I've had no time for pleasure reading this month. Tough luck, but there you go.

 

[Happy Joe]

Suvudu Suvudu Free Book Library - Suvudu - Science Fiction and Fantasy Books, Movies, and Games got me started on the Starfist series
Its a military (space marines) series (heavily into procedure and protocol, but moderately enjoyable). I'm starting book 4 (of 10 or so) today.

Enjoy!

 

[Hypnos164]

Started Dragon and Thief by Timothy Zahn - has a nice juvie Heinlein kind of feel about it so far...