SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

Besides what I'm currently reading:

Blindsight (slow going for me)
City of Jade A Novel of Mithgar

I'll be reading many great selections for various book clubs here on GoodReads, including:

To Reign in Hell
Way of Shadows

http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/...

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday. I just got back from visiting my kids in Texas and had a great time.

I decided last month that I should reread all the classic literature I read in junior high and high school. I'd like to read them with an adult perspective and see what I missed the first time around. I emailed my best friend about it, so now I think she's joining me on this adventure. I just finished The Scarlet Letter.

So for December I'm planning on:
Animal Farm
Lord of the Flies
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
The Great Gatsby

I'm not sure where I will go after that.

I've started Warbreaker, it's looking good so far.
After that, I'm not sure, maybe Nine Princes in Amber because I don't remember the story at all.
I've also intended for some time to read The Master of Whitestorm, I hope to start it after Christmas, I'll be in holiday then.

I am reading FALLOUT by Derek Gunn

I'm reading The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks;
Legacy by Greg Bear;
Into the Fire by Richard Laymon

Still working my way through Acacia The War with the Mein

I'm taking the fast track on The Hero of Ages as well reading The Shining. I've been carrying The Hero of Ages around for emergency reading for a while and just haven't made time for it. I've also got a stack of library books that includes Wireless by Charles Stross. I listened to "Down on the Farm" on the Starship Sofa podcast recently and really enjoyed it. It's supposedly included in this short story collection.

Finally, finally I finished to read Vernor Vinge's A Fire Upon The Deep
It took me 6 weeks! to finish it.
I really liked the story and protagonists, but so much technobabble!?!? almost impossible to read.

Back to Fantasy.

Most likely I will start C.S. Friedman's Coldfire Trilogy, Book 1 - Black Sun Rising

I'm currently reading "Angels & Demons" by Dan Brown.

Besides re-reading Nine Princes in Amber, I am reading selections for various other groups on Goodreads:
* Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon
* The Stupidest Angel A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror, Version 2.0 by Christopher Moore (for two groups, which is terribly convenient)
* Hogfather by Terry Pratchett (another re-read)

To start at the end of the month in preparation for January discussions:
* On Basilisk Station by David Weber
* To Reign in Hell by Steven Brust (assuming I can find a copy in time)

If I finish those, I have a non-group-specific stack to dig into that will carry over into January (which I'd like to believe I'll get to, but I have my doubts):
* Way Station by Clifford D. Simak
* Cosmicomics by Italo Calvino
* The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
* Ella Minnow Pea A Novel in Letters by Mark Dunn

I just finished The Long Price Quartet by Daniel Abraham and Iceworld by Hal Clement and am now (finally) reading Neuromancer by William Gibson, the father of Cyberpunk.

Heinlein's "Have space suit - will travel" but in French - not easy I'm telling you! I tried to start on Neuromancer but it was almost as difficult to understand in English as the other is in French, so I'll save it to later - I need to find some book that requires less effort to read on the side. Perhaps something on my native tongue for once... :D

Kirk wrote: "I'm currently reading "Angels & Demons" by Dan Brown."

I read that too, to check if his style changed anything from The Da Vinci Code. It didn't. That's some nice, effortless reading if anything. Hope you enjoy it!

Just finished the second in the trill of 'Mistborn' The Well of Ascension. Enjoyable if a bit thick with detail to flesh out ways and means of the characters and history of the world that's created. Book 3 is on hold for me at the library. I hope it picks up all the threads laid down in this book and ends with a bang.

Crowgirl wrote: "Book 3 is on hold for me at the library. I hope it picks up all the threads laid down in this book and ends with a bang."

Oh, it does. It is probably the best out of the trilogy as well.

Its December -- time to re-read my all-time favorite book: "The Wind in the Willows" by Kenneth Grahame. Will follow that with William Horwood's 'sequels' "The Willows in Winter," "Toad Triumphant," "The Willows at Christmas" and "The Willows and Beyond." Then, whatever else strikes my fancy either at the library or wherever :) I've a pile of books here to read, but I'm easily distracted by others.

I always have several going at once...right now..
1. Under the dome- by King
2. The Way of Shadows by Weeks
3. Eternity by Bear
4. Boy's life by McCammon
5. The Cider House Rules by Irving
6. Bleak House by Dickens
7. Executive Orders by Clancy

Salem's Lot - found it in my bookshelf thought what the heck. 1984 - never had to read for school and am making a personal goal to read classic stuff.

I'm reading Chalice by Robin McKinley. I'm really enjoyed it. I'm also listening to The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. I'm having a bit of trouble getting into it, but I keep trying.

From The Melancholy Death Of Oyster Boy & Other Stories by Tim Burton to Alcott's Little Women.

I'm pretty hooked on Justina Robson's Quantum Gravity series (Keeping it Real, Selling Out, etc). it's a little racy but also has pretty smart ideas and is imaginative.

I don't think I meant that as a reply to Susanna. it's easier to enter a reply than a new post. sorry about that.

Currently reading Flyte (Angie Sage) and the finale for this year would be... Children of Hurin (JRR Tolkien). Excited is an euphemism ;)

PS: if I still have time...maybe Prey (Michael Crichton).

Arthur wrote: "Finally, finally I finished to read Vernor Vinge's A Fire Upon The Deep
It took me 6 weeks! to finish it.
I really liked the story and protagonists, but so much technobabble!?!? almost impossible t..."

I'm in the middle of reading "Rainbows End," but all the technobabble you mention is kind of scaring me away from reading the "sky" duology.

That's one thing I don't like about cyberpunk. It reads to avant guard for me. I tried reading Stross but each page was an effort to read.

Jim wrote: "That's one thing I don't like about cyberpunk. It reads to avant guard for me. I tried reading Stross but each page was an effort to read."

Stross is overrated anyway. Richard K. Morgan's books are both more accessible and more interesting.

Greyweather wrote: "Jim wrote: "That's one thing I don't like about cyberpunk. It reads to avant guard for me. I tried reading Stross but each page was an effort to read."

Stross is overrated anyway. [author:Richard..."

Greyweather: I haven't read any steampunk yet but outside of some obvious setting items, what would you say is "easier" to read, Steampunk or cyberpunk?

Well for me ease of reading comes mainly from the author rather than the genre, but if technobabel is your concern then I suppose steampunk would be easier in general.

I am studying the Hock International CMA Study Book, Part 3. Not my idea of relaxing reading. I have my 3rd exam the 4th of January and it has really taken time away from my pleasure reading. If I pass (it usually takes me two tries), I am going to immediately pick up The Algebraist because it sounds so good. Hopefully the discussion will still be open by then.

i like Animorphs, Enders Game, and the supernaturalist

Greyweather wrote: "Well for me ease of reading comes mainly from the author rather than the genre, but if technobabel is your concern then I suppose steampunk would be easier in general."

Greyweather: Thanks for the Morgan reference earlier I'll be looking into Morgan when I'm book buying this weekend. About the author rather then the genre, that makes sense.

So far I've read:
Time Travelers Never Die by Jack McDevitt. I like his Alex Benedict novels so I thought I 'd try it and it was pretty good.
Amber novels 6, 7, and 8 from Roger Zelazny
Right now I'm on The Host by Stephenie Meyer which is better than I thought with so many people trashing it.

I just finished Warbreaker, am currently reading Nine Princes in Amber, then I will read The Way of Shadows and The Algebraist for bookclub reads.
I'm also currently rereading Fifth Business and am trying to learn as much about Carl Jung's four parts of the personality as I can for a Fifth Business/Hamlet essay.
If I have any time left in December after that, I'll read Piers Anthony's Incarnations of Immortality series and I'm hoping to get The Absolute Sandman, Vol. 4 for Christmas.

I gave up on Blindsight and turned it back into the library yesterday.

Since I have a business trip with a short one hour flight (each way) today, I'm taking a couple of "small" paperbacks with me:

and

If neither of those appeal to me on the flight, I also have The Silmarillion as an audio book on my BlackBerry.

I'm reading Marillier's Child of Prophecy. Hope to finish it this Saturday, then I could try some of the new books I recently got.

Jon wrote: "I gave up on Blindsight and turned it back into the library yesterday. "

I'm sorry that you gave up on Blindsight - it doesn't get much pace until the end, but the author keeps steadily building up the creepiness throughout, with more and more revelations. It's very thought-provoking, and probably one of the most chilling books that I've ever read.

The last thing that I've read wasn't very good writing, but it was fun - Small Favor, by Jim Butcher. I'm hoping to get through Thud! before Christmas.

@Stuart: And I feel bad now for abandoning Blindsight with all the press that Watts is getting this week. Perhaps it was the creepiness that was creeping me out. I gave up reading horror back when I was a teenager, so that could have been part of it.

On a more cheerful note, I finished The Lost Colony (my review) while attending an all-day technology conference yesterday. Definitely a page turner.

Jon wrote: "@Stuart: And I feel bad now for abandoning Blindsight with all the press that Watts is getting this week. Perhaps it was the creepiness that was creeping me out. I gave up reading horror back wh..."

Fair enough - it is more horrifying than most things labeled horror, I think. The only other thing that I've read that was near as bleak was written by a guy with clinical depression (Thomas Ligotti).

Finished book 3, The Hero of Ages and although I noticed it on the 'Best of fantasy" list here I would not agree. It wasn't a badly written series and had good technical construction, I just never felt any attachment to the characters. Really didn't care if they lived or died.

The ending was predictable, with all the blatant religious messages embedded. The 'just have faith someone is watching over you' plot ending wasn't even original. I read poetry as much as fantasy and expect more lyrical writing from what I call GOOD fantasy, especially if they're going to start preaching.

I'm finishing up Alastair Reynolds'
Zima Blue and Other Stories in the next day or so, and with the last couple weeks of the year I'm gonna try to read David Weber's In Fury Born.

I'd expected to return to Under the Dome A Novel, but my interest in picking it back up has plummeted.

Crowgirl wrote: "I read poetry as much as fantasy and expect more lyrical writing from what I call GOOD fantasy, especially if they're going to start preaching."

If that is the case I would make a point of reading Catherynne M. Valente's Orphan's Tales duology.

Starting Next by Michael Crichton right now.

Greyweather wrote: "that is the case I would make a point of reading Catherynne M. Valente's Orphan's Tales duology."

Its already on my To-Read list but its good to hear someone found it worthwhile. I in turn would suggest Fudoki a story based on the Kitsune (female fox spirit.), Kij Johnson also writes another based on a cat turned human.

Crowgirl wrote: "I read poetry as much as fantasy and expect more lyrical writing from what I call GOOD fantasy, especially if they're going to start preaching."

Have you tried Alison Croggon? She's an award-winning poet from Australia who's also taken it upon herself to write some lovely fantasy. The one I have in mind is a quartet called the Books of Pellinor. There's poetry sprinkled throughout her writing, too, as verse and prose play some part in the story's plot. Granted, they're YA, but that hasn't deterred me any. It's still wonderfully written stuff, and if you happen to like it, there's more than enough to material to swallow. Every book in the sequence is at least 350 to 400 pages long. I've read the first two, but I'm re-reading them so I can go on to the last two without it being confusing. I think they're beautifully written, almost Tolkien-like (which many of her critics have said also). The books of the series, in order, are:

The Naming: The First Book of Pellinor
The Riddle: The Second Book of Pellinor
The Crow: The Third Book of Pellinor
The Singing: The Fourth Book of Pellinor

Jasmine wrote: "Granted, they're YA, but that hasn't deterred me any."

I find some of the best reads in YA books. Many are better than the supposed adult fantasy. You can't fool the young with a lot of drawn out filler and wasted words. Many of my favorite authors have turned to 'children's books' Ursula K. LeGuin for example.

I've had a series recommend by a H.S. Librarian friend. Each is named after an animal starting with Tiger.

Thanks for suggestions I'll put them on my overwhelming long to-read list...LOL

Speaking of Ursula K. LeGuin, I've started The Left Hand Of Darkness yesterday. I don't know yet if I'll like it, but at least it's well written.

I finished Warbreaker (I really liked it) and Nine Princes in Amber (didn't like it much) earlier than I expected, so I don't have plans for what to read after. I'll have to decide before my holidays.

Has anyone read anything by William C Dietz? I've heard good things, any thoughts and suggestions?

Cecile wrote: "Speaking of Ursula K. LeGuin, I've started The Left Hand Of Darkness yesterday. I don't know yet if I'll like it, but at least it's well written.

I finished Warbreaker..."

I'm finding the same thing; I loved Warbreaker, but I'm not really into Nine Princes in Amber. I still have 60 pages to go though - maybe it'll draw me in at the end.

Sara wrote: "... I'm not really into Nine Princes in Amber. I still have 60 pages to go though - maybe it'll draw me in at the end. "

Or maybe you'll do what I did: dash off through the last pages to get it over with and start another book.

Sara wrote: "Cecile wrote: "Speaking of Ursula K. LeGuin, I've started The Left Hand Of Darkness yesterday. I don't know yet if I'll like it, but at least it's well written.

I finished Wa..."</i>

I love Ursula LeGuin, but the one time I tried [book:The Left Hand of Darkness I couldn't get into it - been meaning to pick it up again now that I've read a bunch of her other books.

re: Zelazny, I thought (*wonders if she should duck*) his Amber series had some interesting concepts but didn't really enjoy it that much. On the other hand, A Night in the Lonesome October is one of my favorite books; the characters seemed better developed and figuring out what's going on was so quirky.

Just finished The Resurrectionist, by Jack O'Connell.
Creepy, surreal as hell, urban fantasy with horror overtones. Great read: read it in one sitting.