It's October. What are you reading?

[Juliana]

Latest reads:

Robin Hobb, Fool's Assassin - lovely, and nice to be back in among the Farseers again. Hobb is an amazing writer; she always manages to make me cry, and I'm not a weepy sort of reader.

Cassandra Clare, City of Bones - wanted to see what all the hype was about; enjoyable enough with some interesting characters but I don't think I'll bother with the others in the series.

Trudi Canavan, Thief's Magic - oddly disappointing. I've had Canavan on my to read list for ages, and when I saw her latest book in the library I thought I'd finally give it a try. I know her first series won awards, etc, so I might try that instead.

 

[Parson]

Picked up Buried -- A Bone Secrets Novel; by Kendra Elliot. Book two in the series. Too soon for much of any reaction accept that once again the "romance" appears to be almost more important than the mystery. Frustrating!

 

[Jesse412]

Ultimate World
by Hugo Gernsback

One of his few novels and while it's not his best work by any means, it may be worth checking out for those interested in his writings. Ultimate World depicts an alien invasion and the consequences it has on the human race. The aliens, who the humans name Xenos, are so advanced that the human race is utterly helpless against them however the Xenos are not hostile. Gernback remains strangely optimistic when it becomes clear the invaders are a scientific research expedition and their presence may be beneficial to the human race. The main characters, Dr. Dubious and his wife who we first experience the alien phenomenon with, lack any real characterization. They are merely the eyes from which we first see events unfold. Included are a plethora of fantastic inventions many of which exist is some form today. A trait the writing of Gernback is well known for. Another notable attribute common in his writing is sex, or the study of, which is also featured here including descriptions of sex in zero gravity. The Xenos begin abducting couples and force breeding them, using their genetic material to create an evolved race of super genius children who are vehemently anti war. The story climaxes when the Xenos are met by a rival and hostile alien race.

Here's a better look the Frank R. Paul wrap around cover artwork depicting the 10-Balls and the rival Spike-balls.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

In honor of Halloween, I am rereading A Night on the Moor & Other Tales of Dread, by R. Murray Gilchrist (love and death and doom), and Hauntings, by Vernon Lee (beautifully written and haunting indeed).

 

[The Bluestocking]

Got sidetracked from my original October reading list and read Dying Is My Business by Nicholas Kaufmann. Not bad for the first book in his Urban Fantasy series about Trent - a guy who cannot die. Moving on to the second book in the series - Die and Stay Dead.

Also completed the Anna Dressed In Blood duology. First book was AWESOME. Then the protagonist got way too angsty in the second book...

Now continuing to read:

• Danse Macabre - Stephen King
• The Midnighters Trilogy - Scott Westerfeld
• Drums of Autumn - Diana Gabaldon

Should finish reading these three by the end of October. Well, hopefully.

Finally: About to start Joe Hill's NOS4A2. Bring on the scares for Halloween!

 

[Foxbat]

Just started Micahel Moorcock's The War Hound And The World's Pain
after that it's The Spring Of My Life by Kobayashi Issa.

 

[Bugg]

I'm about 200 pages into The Time Ships, Stephen Baxter's sequel to The Time Machine. I was a bit wary of it, as the original story is one of my favourites, but I have to say I'm rather enjoying it so far.

Prior to that I read Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles, which I thought was fantastic.

 

[Dinosaur]

Impact by Adam Baker.

The third in a series of books about zombies caused by some form of alien technology that turns the undead into weird metalic entities. Alot better that 99% of the zombie books out there.

 

[hurtsdonut]

Re-reading the Ringworld series. Amazing how something I enjoyed so much in my youth now seems so cheesy. Still fun though. The thing about older books is seeing what technologies came to fruition, and which were missed. For instance, Ringworld has FTL travel and atomic transmutation, yet they pay for things with a magnetic-strip credit card (which were new when it was written).

 

[Extollager]

I've finished reading as much as I intend to read of Richard Jefferies's 1885 novel After London. I read most of it but skipped towards the end except for the superlative material about the hero's wanderings in (probably an outlying area of) London after an apocalypse. What a precursor of Tolkien's Mordor. Powerful stuff.

 

[Bick]

I've started (75 pages in) Toby Frost's Space Captain Smith. It's proving to be a light fast read, and very funny. It reminds me rather of Robert Rankin's humour (e.g. Deptford trilogy), set in space. Highly enjoyable silliness.

 

[Bart Sistrunk]

I'm reading The Lost Stars, Imperfect Sword by Jack Campbell. I love the Lost Fleet series, though I will admit the books are starting to get a little repetitive. These books are what I picture space combat would really be like -- not like the WW2 dog-fights between space ships you see in movies.

 

[Bick]

I've finished reading as much as I intend to read of Richard Jefferies's 1885 novel After London. I read most of it but skipped towards the end except for the superlative material about the hero's wanderings in (probably an outlying area of) London after an apocalypse. What a precursor of Tolkien's Mordor. Powerful stuff.

I'm not familiar with Jefferies, Extollager, but his wikipedia entry makes for interesting reading, so perhaps I should look at this at some point. Is it known whether he was actually an influence on Tolkein?

 

[Jesse412]

Quills
by Doug Wright

This award winning play was turned into a film back in 2000. The book contains graphic descriptions of sexual acts and other debaucheries often disturbing and horrific. It examines the effects the Marquis' writings had on readers, censorship and hypocrisy. Quills depicts the last days of the Marquis de Sade at the Charenton insane asylum.

Spoiler

When it's discovered that confinement hasn't stopped the Marquis from writing Abbé du Coulmier is encouraged by Dr. Royer-Collard to take cruel measures to stop him. This sets off a chain of events that leads to the death of laundress Madeleine LeClerc and the Coulmier being corrupted himself in a most ironic way. The ending also features a very unexpected and memorable visual.

 

[Connavar]

Im reading Long Days Journey into the night by Eugene O'Niell for my personal enjoyment, to read an important modern play. Very form breaking right, the scene discriptions are more novels like inner monolouges. Very Irish, messed up family story.

Also reading the complete text version of Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe(of course not like the writer is unknown )
Reading it for my advanced children's lit class, the realism part of it. Funny im on the part that they cut out of children classic versions. The slow, dry inner thoughts of Robinson before he gets to more adventure parts. The story of a young man who leaves home for the greater world in those times.

Im enjoying it so far for the realistic almost Balzac like discussions of the mistakes of young foolish man.

 

[Extollager]

I'm not familiar with Jefferies, Extollager, but his wikipedia entry makes for interesting reading, so perhaps I should look at this at some point. Is it known whether he was actually an influence on Tolkein?

After 50 years or so of study of Tolkien, readers haven't been able to pin down more than a handful of sure or reasonably certain modern influences on him: George MacDonald's goblins and those of The Hobbit, the idea of the Sherd of Amenartas in Rider Haggard's She as a device getting a story of weird and ancient powers going, etc. He doesn't seem to have written much about his recreational reading in essays, lectures, or letters. Unless I'm forgetting something, I would have to say I haven't seen anything to confirm that he read Jefferies's book.

However, I think it is likely he read around a fair bit, from boyhood up, in such adventure fantasy and sf as he found, or as was recommended to him by friends such as C. S. Lewis -- who, be it noted, read remarkably widely in these genres.

http://www.sffchronicles.com/threads/542442/

So far as I recall, Lewis didn't mention the Jefferies book either.

 

[Dinosaur]

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett.

Pretty good so far and one hell of a lot darker, bleaker, violent and generally grim (plus whatever the latest catch phrase for non-fluffy bunny fantasy may be) than any fantasy I've read.

 

[SloppyJoe]

American Monsters: A History of Monster Lore, Legends, and Sightings in America

 

[Juliana]

Rick Riordan's latest, the final book in his Heroes of Olympus series. My daughter is finally done with it so it's my turn. Been following his Percy Jackson books since the second came out.

 

[hedgeknight]

I'm about 200 pages from finishing A Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss > to say the book has taken seemingly forever to read is an understatement!