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[Yippee38]

The neet thing about Simmons is that he works proficiently in multiple genres: horror, SF and fantasy, and produces good-to-great work in each.

Agreed. Maybe I should get another Simmons book (or re-read one).

 

[LunaTEKKE]

I just found out I have a whole laundry list of food allergies.

So right now, I’m reading “Gluten-Free Girl” by Shauna James Ahern. It’s very well written…and would be an interesting read for anyone facing lifestyle changes for health reasons.

I just hope that the author's positive outlook rubs off on me before I finish the book...

 

[Yippee38]

I'm looking for books to read, so I thought I'd come back here and check out this thread. However, I noticed that nobody much talks about how good or bad the books are after they are done. So I'd like to request that after you finish reading a book, tell us what you thought of it.

 

[Pellaz]

I'm looking for books to read, so I thought I'd come back here and check out this thread. However, I noticed that nobody much talks about how good or bad the books are after they are done. So I'd like to request that after you finish reading a book, tell us what you thought of it.

http://www.paulcashman.com/curr-boo.html

Sheesh, what more do ya want?!

 

[Yippee38]

http://www.paulcashman.com/curr-boo.html

Sheesh, what more do ya want?!

Thanks, but that doesn't quite help. Your taste and mine are quite significantly different.

 

[Ruthven]

Hey Paul, I see you graded Tanya Huff's "Blood Books" as "excellent." Good for you.

 

[Ruthven]

Probably because the vast majority of new fiction on the sci-fi shelves seems to be paranormal romantic fantasy these days...

I'm just waiting for the bottom of the market to fall out, and only the ones who are True 2 Da Game will be left standing.

 

[Pellaz]

Hey Paul, I see you graded Tanya Huff's "Blood Books" as "excellent." Good for you.

They (two short novels in one) were great!

Now I'm reading CQY's The Palace and enjoying it a lot.

I do think the story would be flowing better with fewer "letters from so-and-so to so-and-so" at the beginning of each chapter to establish the timing, and more fixing of time through the narrative ("In the four months since Laurenzo had died,.....")

But, that's a minor quibble. Quite a few of the books I've read lately (Kushiel's Scion is one) have been set in Italia during the days of the city-states, so it's cool to read yet another.

--And on a weird note, tonight's installment of The Amazing Race took the teams to Florence, Italy -- the same city, 'Fiorenza,' featured in The Palace. (!)

 

[metalprof]

I'm looking for books to read, so I thought I'd come back here and check out this thread. However, I noticed that nobody much talks about how good or bad the books are after they are done. So I'd like to request that after you finish reading a book, tell us what you thought of it.

I don't have written comments, but at least there's a "score" of some sort (3 best to 1 worst, with +/- as needed).

http://faculty.valpo.edu/kluther1/booktrack.html

I haven't updated in a couple of weeks, and would need to add

The White Rose, Glen Cook, 2
Prince of Chaos, Roger Zelazny, 2-
Making Money, Terry Pratchett, 1+

I haven't liked the last several books I've read, I don't know if it's because some of them really weren't that great, or if I'm just getting burned out.

I started Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson, yesterday.

Ken

 

[Ruthven]

I do think the story would be flowing better with fewer "letters from so-and-so to so-and-so" at the beginning of each chapter to establish the timing, and more fixing of time through the narrative ("In the four months since Laurenzo had died,.....")

I completely disagree, I think the letters give the book verisimilitude. As you get further, you'll see how the between chapter letters and documents work for the book. The letters give details that would have seemed out of place in the narrative per se.

 

[J-Dubya 777]

Clive Barker's Imajica comes to mind as another example of several genres coming together...in one book.

Probably one of the best books he's done. I really enjoyed it, and also enjoyed The Great & Secret Show, & The Damnation Game.

 

[Pellaz]

$resurrect,thread


NR: Phillip Pullman, The Golden Compass -- 40% done, very good to excellent so far. (The differences between the book and the film are intriguing, too)


previously: Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, The Palace -- excellent!

 

[OrbWeaver]

Getting ready to start Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett.

I've gotta say, so far The Wee Free Men and A Hat Full of Sky have been alot deeper than the Discworld novels he has written for adults. And I think those are very smart and thought-provoking! I'm impressed at how much he's asking young readers to think about with the books about Tiffany Aching.

 

[lady_space]

Just finished Witches Abroad and Small Gods by Terry Pratchett... I enjoyed them both. Probably Small Gods better than WA. I just started Lords and Ladies. I don't think, if you like Pratchett, you can go too wrong, though some books are better than others.

Let's see... what else did I recently read? The Alienist by Caleb somebody or other. Quite good. It's a bit of a "detective/thriller/mystery" novel set in the late 19th century. Teddy Roosevelt is a character in it. I also read Mimic and the The Reliquary by Lincoln Child & Douglas Preston. I'm guessing Mimic is what the movie was based on but never saw it, so I don't know for sure. It was good. The Reliquary went a bit too far, IMO, especially at the end, and killed the whole suspension of disbelief thingy. It was okay, but not one I would recommend.

 

[Harvester]

Recently Finished: The Hunt for Atlantis - Andrew McDermont
Now Reading: Blasphemy- Douglas Preston

In the Que:

1. The Six Sacred Stones- Matthew Reilly
2. The Alexander Cipher- Will Adams
3. Pyramid- Tom Martin
4. The Thieves of Faith- Richard Doestch
5. Plague Year- Jeff Carlson

 

[PurpleCrayonWriter]

Juno, The Shooting Script (a brilliant movie, quite possibly one of my all-time favorites).

The Anubis Gates, by Tim Powers. Is this where the band got its name?

Each Moment Is the Universe: Zen and the Way of Being Time, by Dainin Katagiri. Zen rocks.

Also, when I'm done with the above, I'll plow through the Travis McGee series again. John D. MacDonald was a tremendous writer.

Bill

 

[Locust0311]

Just finished - The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch (excellent! thanks for the heads up Glenn!)

Picking back up after a break - The Confusion by Neal Stephenson (its looong, detailed and heavy but quite interesting, I'm 2/3 through it)

At the top of the "To Read" list:
Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett (going through in order!)
System of the World by Neal Stephenson (gonna finish these beasts if it kills me)
Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch (yay for sequels!)
The Darkness Thats Comes Before by R. Scott Bakker (if I'm gonna keep buying them when they come out I should really start reading them...)
Of Fire and Night by Kevin J. Anderson (another long series I'm in the middle of...)
One of the innumerable Star Wars books I keep buying but have fallen way behind in reading

Jim in DC
NP: Tarja - My Winter Storm

 

[Pellaz]

The Anubis Gates, by Tim Powers. Is this where the band got its name?

I've been wondering the same thing!

Getting ready to start Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett.

Is that a new Discworld novel, or one of his other (Aching, etc.) series?

I've gotta say, so far The Wee Free Men and A Hat Full of Sky have been alot deeper than the Discworld novels he has written for adults. And I think those are very smart and thought-provoking! I'm impressed at how much he's asking young readers to think about with the books about Tiffany Aching.

That's good to hear. I think I have both of those here, and I'll bump them up in the queue.

 

[Yippee38]

I'm reading a book called "Across the Face of the World" by Russel Kirkpatrick. It's kind of a Tolkien rip-off. It's entertaining, but there are definitely parallels. He spends a ton of time describing scenery. <yawn> It's decent enough that I'll read the next book.

 

[jaimek]

I'm on a reread of Robin Hobb's Assassin trilogy - I HATED how the last book ended, but I realized that I originally read it under unrelatedly unpleasant circumstances, and decided to give it another shot. Besides, everything else is packed!