What Are You Reading?

[CyberJCM]

Then there is at least two of us who are a bit strange. I'm always drifting away on phone calls.

After all the talk earlier of Mistborn and then the king killer series I'm currently trying to decide which of those to tackle next. Maybe I'll flip a coin.

I'm a compulsive walk around the house when I'm on the phone lol

If you start Mistborn, since I recently finished the series, I'd be interested to hear what you think. First bit of book one is a slog though, it does accomplish a bit of character building but you'll probably want it to hurry up then completely forget about it later. But its good stuff once it gets going.

The end of the series has a nice ending, I think

 

[acesn8s]

Then there is at least two of us who are a bit strange. I'm always drifting away on phone calls.

After all the talk earlier of Mistborn and then the king killer series I'm currently trying to decide which of those to tackle next. Maybe I'll flip a coin.

Sanderson finished the Mistborn trilogy, Rothfuss is still working on book 3 of the Kingkiller series. So if you want to have a series with an ending, go with Mistborn.

If you like a well crafted and defined magic system in your fantasy novels, Sanderson does this very well.

That being said, I believe Rothfuss is the better storyteller and prefer his books over Sanderson's (I'm still a big fan!).

 

[shimsham]

Same here! Not too far into the second part, and its making me wish we were still in The Life of the Mind. But I'm not bored, I just wasn't ready to step away from Rafe Daquin yet! I want to know what happens But Scalzi is a lot of fun, a favorite author..... except for all the "So and so said's" lol

I'm not sure I like the disjointed nature of the four-novella approach. The 4-POV approach reminds me of the Song of Ice and Fire approach but without the length to really establish the four characters. As soon as you really get invested in one it moves to someone else, never to return. It is a bit frustrating.

 

[CyberJCM]

I'm not sure I like the disjointed nature of the four-novella approach. The 4-POV approach reminds me of the Song of Ice and Fire approach but without the length to really establish the four characters. As soon as you really get invested in one it moves to someone else, never to return. It is a bit frustrating.

I agree with you there. When it was the B-Team stuff, I was very hesitant to even get it because of this, but thankfully they combined the novellas now so its not too bad. Another thing that really screws it up for me is being an audiobook listener. For pretty much the whole series they've had an amazing narrator named William Dufris. He adds quite a bit of wit and charm to these characters and I think it really plays well with Scalzi's writing. He narrates parts of End of All Things. But there's a female narrator as well for at least Novella 2, and while she's good too, she interprets the characters completely different and its unsettling. Dufris plays Harry Wilson as very smart, but light hearted and sarcastic. She has him as stern and stiff soldier and its just not right! haha Oh well...

There's an interesting blog post by Scalzi on his site about finishing this book I think you'll enjoy. Part of it has to do with how he feels about the novella structure
http://whatever.scalzi.com/2015/04/05/follow-up-on-finishing-the-end-of-all-things/

 

[missmertle]

I'm currently reading three different series at the moment, switching off with my mood.

One, is Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series, which I had originally gotten into at my mother's urging. She was a MAJOR King fan (had read every one of his titles, and he was my first pre-teen foray into the world of awesome reading outside of books geared towards kids) and had been reading it since a year or two after I was born and has every hardcover, which I was lucky enough to find when she passed in '09. She never got to actually finish the series, and some part of me fantasizes that as I progress, she's reading over my shoulder to see what she's missed (same kinda goes for various TV shows we enjoyed together, but I digress.) ETA: Anyone interested in this, or has read this, definitely check out "The Talisman" and it's semi-sequal "The Black House", they're along similar lines and include some of the reoccurring characters in the series.

Second is the "Dresden Files" series, by Jim Butcher. LOVE this series and have for a while. Intelligent, funny, keeps you on your toes, etc. Wonderful read.

Third, "Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter" (the title sounds cheesy, I know, but don't let it sway you against it) series by Laurell K. Hamilton. While this and the Dresden Files are completely different, I consider them in the same vibe as they both have great humor mixed with drama, coupled with a cop/P.I. thang going for 'em.

Highly recommend all three for those into fantasy, supernatural, mystery with boughts of laugh-out-loud quips and one liners and "holy crap, no they didn't" moments.

 

[docjude]

Rereading Walden, & On The Duty Of Civil Disobedience (Thoreau)

 

[acesn8s]

I'm currently reading three different series at the moment, switching off with my mood.

One, is Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series, which I had originally gotten into at my mother's urging. She was a MAJOR King fan (had read every one of his titles, and he was my first pre-teen foray into the world of awesome reading outside of books geared towards kids) and had been reading it since a year or two after I was born and has every hardcover, which I was lucky enough to find when she passed in '09. She never got to actually finish the series, and some part of me fantasizes that as I progress, she's reading over my shoulder to see what she's missed (same kinda goes for various TV shows we enjoyed together, but I digress.) ETA: Anyone interested in this, or has read this, definitely check out "The Talisman" and it's semi-sequal "The Black House", they're along similar lines and include some of the reoccurring characters in the series.

Second is the "Dresden Files" series, by Jim Butcher. LOVE this series and have for a while. Intelligent, funny, keeps you on your toes, etc. Wonderful read.

Third, "Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter" (the title sounds cheesy, I know, but don't let it sway you against it) series by Laurell K. Hamilton. While this and the Dresden Files are completely different, I consider them in the same vibe as they both have great humor mixed with drama, coupled with a cop/P.I. thang going for 'em.

Highly recommend all three for those into fantasy, supernatural, mystery with boughts of laugh-out-loud quips and one liners and "holy crap, no they didn't" moments.

I enjoyed Anita Blake 1-8 (I think). After Narcissus in Chains, I lost interest.

 

[CyberJCM]

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Haha! Starting a new B&B trend? The ROTD (Read Of The Day) pic?

 

[missmertle]

I enjoyed Anita Blake 1-8 (I think). After Narcissus in Chains, I lost interest.

Haven't gotten that far yet, I've only gotten as far as #4, The Lunatic Cafe. Hopefully the series doesn't meet the same fate with me as it did for you. It's always a shame when a good series with a ton of books either changes gears too much, or just becomes "meh" after a while.

 

[ByMyBeard]

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I've been thinking of reading some of Lamour's works. Does it matter where I start?

How do you enjoy the Oculto? I'm tempted to try it, but haven't heard many good reviews. Most seem to think it tastes like those Bud Light Lime-a-Rita things....

 

[gwsmallwood]

I've got a few different books going right now.

• The On-Purpose Person. This was recommended by one of our church pastors to help me find the best places to serve. I've finished the book and I'm about 3/4 through the actual "process". Probably worth a read but I'm withholding any recommendations until I'm done.
• Whistle While You Work. Same type of idea as above. Worth a read but not sure how helpful the practical advice really is.
• The 5 Love Languages - to go along with a marriage study at church. Very insightful. Even if you already know what they are and which language your spouse speaks, this book has some good practical recommendations for learning to speak a second language.
• My Utmost for His Highest - Going through this daily devotional with my "mighty men".
• The Revenge of Seven - because I need something to balance out all of the serious stuff...

 

[gwsmallwood]

I've been thinking of reading some of Lamour's works. Does it matter where I start?

I haven't read them in years, but I've always enjoyed the Sackett books. Some of them are a direct series and some of them are loosely related, but I really enjoyed the fact that it tracks a single family over multiple generations.

 

[gwsmallwood]

sorry to hear that. I have a 20 minute drive to work and almost always have a CD book playing since I can't cope with the crap on the radio... however, since my old old car died and I have a new old car with a cassette player, I'm humming a lot these days....

I've started downloading them to my phone from my library website and putting in the headphones on my drives.

Second is the "Dresden Files" series, by Jim Butcher. LOVE this series and have for a while. Intelligent, funny, keeps you on your toes, etc. Wonderful read.

One of my favorites. It starts out a little cheesy, but every book gets consistently better. If you don't quite get into Storm Front or Fool Moon, at least get through Grave Peril before giving up on the series. Once you get to Summer Knight I don't think you'll be able to stop...

 

[CyberJCM]

I've got a few different books going right now.

• The On-Purpose Person. This was recommended by one of our church pastors to help me find the best places to serve. I've finished the book and I'm about 3/4 through the actual "process". Probably worth a read but I'm withholding any recommendations until I'm done.
• Whistle While You Work. Same type of idea as above. Worth a read but not sure how helpful the practical advice really is.
• The 5 Love Languages - to go along with a marriage study at church. Very insightful. Even if you already know what they are and which language your spouse speaks, this book has some good practical recommendations for learning to speak a second language.
• My Utmost for His Highest - Going through this daily devotional with my "mighty men".
• The Revenge of Seven - because I need something to balance out all of the serious stuff...

Hey, another Lorian fan! Haven't heard anyone else here mention them before. I've read them all, fun series and I'm pretty excited for how it will all wrap up.

5 Love Languages is great, especially in audio read by Dr. Chapman himself. My wife and I listened through it together when we were engaged, and it was insightful and helpful. Not so much when she changes hers somewhere along the way and failed to inform me lol But I caught on... I think

 

[Tim_McD]

{re: Dresden} One of my favorites. It starts out a little cheesy, but every book gets consistently better. If you don't quite get into Storm Front or Fool Moon, at least get through Grave Peril before giving up on the series. Once you get to Summer Knight I don't think you'll be able to stop...

I finished "Storm Front" on Sunday, I did think that it was a bit glib and light in plot. I have the e-book bundle (books 1-6) queued up, so I will continue with them as soon as they become available from my library

Next up is Lee Child's "The Hard Way"

 

[gwsmallwood]

5 Love Languages is great, especially in audio read by Dr. Chapman himself. My wife and I listened through it together when we were engaged, and it was insightful and helpful. Not so much when she changes hers somewhere along the way and failed to inform me lol But I caught on... I think

That's the one I'm listening to. My wife basically has a tie for top two, Gifts and Affirmation. I'm almost 100% Acts of Service. Talk about different languages...

 

[acesn8s]

I finished "Storm Front" on Sunday, I did think that it was a bit glib and light in plot. I have the e-book bundle (books 1-6) queued up, so I will continue with them as soon as they become available from my library

Next up is Lee Child's "The Hard Way"

Books 1 & 2 in the Dresden Files are average. By book 3 you start to see character development and a larger, overarching plot. Then you'll get to Dead Beat, and Dead Beat is just full of awesome.

 

[KenGriffith45]

Book 7 of Stephen King's 'The Tower' series. Resisted reading it for many years, but a co-worker convinced me I should and i'm somewhat glad I did, I'll admit.

 

[David in Boston]

Just picked up the second book in the series, The Day of Battle, The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944.

And yes, I can't put this book down!

Purchased yesterday the third book of Rich Atkinson' trilogy, The Guns At Last Light, The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945.

 

[DeaconKC]

I haven't read them in years, but I've always enjoyed the Sackett books. Some of them are a direct series and some of them are loosely related, but I really enjoyed the fact that it tracks a single family over multiple generations.

Yes! The Sackett series is a great place to start with LL!