Whatcha Reading?

[Kris Johnson]

My last two books (The Android's Dream and The Last Colony) have been from John Scalzi, and the man can definitely write some sci-fi. Once Zoë's Tale—the fourth (and final?) volume set in the ahmwaverse—is available in paperback, you can bet I'll buy it.

That doesn't help me right now, though, and I think we all learned a valuable lesson from the last time I tried to ask you people for advice, so I'm going to take my own counsel once more and read The Talented Mr. Ripley, by Patricia Highsmith.

Probably.

[Natalie Metzger]

I'm currently reading Making Money by Terry Pratchett (almost done, in fact), and I just started Momo by Michael Ende. Both are quite enjoyable so far. I was going to read Ghost Brigades before Momo, but Andy grabbed it before I could get more than a few pages in. Ah well. I'll get to it, eventually.

I'm also slowly chewing though An Illustrated Life by Danny Gregory. It's more of a coffee table book.

Actually, it's probably a good idea to hold your breath, considering I'm filling your rotten little burrows with water.

I'll have you know my rotten little burrow was sunny, warm, sandy, had palm trees, and mai tais. It was a bit wet, but I'm pretty sure that wasn't because of you. The water was warm and had pretty little fish swimming in it. Yeah, definitely not you. Had I poked my head out of my rotten little burrow I definitely wouldn't have missed out on the opportunity to lead you astray. I promise I'll do better next time. Maybe.

[Nycteris]

I just finished reading The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker.
I didn't like it much, but I liked it enough to finish it.
I thought it was going to be a sort of (small town, 50s) urban fantasy element, from the fly leaf, but there was no fantasy element at all.

[kingfish]

My two "will buy the book as soon as it's available" authors usually release new books in the Spring.  That means that I've thoroughly enjoyed the past month or so.

Jim Butcher just released Turn Coat, the latest Harry Dresden novel.  Life consistently kicks Harry in the privates, but he manages to be optimistic throughout.  I haven't read Butcher's fantasy series, Codex Alera, but I may give it a try.

Raymond Feist’s novels of Midkemia span several hundred years, and I’ve followed them all from year one.  Feist has a rare ability to create a sweeping fantasy saga that can immediately draw you in and make you feel invested in the lives of the characters, and later their children and their children’s children.  Short on undecipherable dialects and pretentious characters, I find them easy to enter and quick to ensnare my imagine.   Rides a Dread Legion was no exception, I was hooked within a couple of chapters, and was done in short order.

I consider both of these to be guilty pleasures, but I sure do enjoy 'em.

[Nycteris]

Raymond Feist’s novels of Midkemia span several hundred years, and I’ve followed them all from year one. 

I haven't kept up, but I did read Magician: Apprentice / Magician: Master a couple of times.
I really loved the character Nakor.

[Kris Johnson]

John Scalzi's fourth novel on the amwaverse, Zoe's Tale, is out in paperback today. I may swing by my local bookstore on the way home from work.

I've been reading Jonathan Lethem's Gun, With Occasional Music and Patricia Highsmith's The Talented Mr. Ripley at various points in the past couple of weeks. Both are quite good.

[Nycteris]

Patricia Highsmith's The Talented Mr. Ripley.

I totally misread that as The Tentacled Mr. Ripley, because I am in the middle of listening to a Cthulhu podcast. 

[Kris Johnson]

Patricia Highsmith's The Talented Mr. Ripley.

I totally misread that as The Tentacled Mr. Ripley, because I am in the middle of listening to a Cthulhu podcast. 

A Cthulhu/Ripley crossover would be interesting, though Ripley is messed up enough without being an Ancient One.

[kingfish]

I haven't kept up, but I did read Magician: Apprentice / Magician: Master a couple of times.
I really loved the character Nakor.

Nakor's story arc has run its course with the last trilody, and wow. Never saw that coming.

I'm biased.

[Kris Johnson]

I finished Zoe's Tale by John Scalzi this morning before work, and it was a thoroughly satisfying book. I asked Laura to read it to get her thoughts on how well it works as a stand-alone novel. Having finished The Last Colony only a week before starting Zoe's Tale, I was obviously familiar with the overall outcome. Getting there through Zoë's eyes was a treat, and I'm curious as to whether my wife will feel the same way.

I stopped by the library on the way home last night and checked out the unabridged audio version of Star Wars: Millennium Falcon by James Luceno, read by Marc Thompson and Evil Genius by Catherine Jinks.

It's been a while since I listened to a "commute" book, and I think Millenium Falcon will fit the bill nicely. So far, it seems to be the type of book that can easily be experienced in ten- or fifteen-minute chunks. The beginning (on the YT-1300 assembly line) reminded me of Stephen King's Christine, and I can see that Luceno is trying to backfill the history of the iconic freighter with a lot of legend and personality. It seems a bit forced (especially now that he's wedged it into the Battle of Coruscant, which takes place during Star Wars Episode II: The One That I Hate Above All Others. Yes, Even The Phantom Menace) but I'm willing to stick with it because someone over at John Scalzi's Whateveresque forum both recommended it and acknowledged that it doesn't get off to a stellar start.

Heh. Stellar. Star Wars. That was totally unintentional.

Moving on!

Evil Genius, the cover of which I have opened just enough to read the jacket notes (yes, it's true, it's a wretched hardcover), appears to be a Young Adult tale, perhaps hewing closer to Artemis Fowl (a character who, after two books, I found generally unsympathetic) than Harry Potter. It's got an interesting premise—the Axis Institute for World Domination is a secret (and it'd have to be, wouldn't it?) school for youngsters who exhibit traits and tendencies more suited to evil geniusery (just made that word up, but go ahead and use it if you like) than corporate droneitude (made that one up, too, but it's not my best work)—but I'll admit it was a total impulse grab (I picked it up on the way from this particular library branch's rather pathetic sci-fi section to their somewhat more robust audiobook shelves) so if it turns out to be a dud I'm not going to be terribly disappointed.

[Nycteris]

I agree with you - a friend of mine was baffled that I didn't find Artemis Fowl sympathetic. I'm glad I'm not the only one.

Currently I'm reading (or trying to read) the Python Cookbook. But I am a non-programmer, so we'll see how far I get.

[LolaJ]

I finished Zoe's Tale by John Scalzi this morning before work, and it was a thoroughly satisfying book. I asked Laura to read it to get her thoughts on how well it works as a stand-alone novel. Having finished The Last Colony only a week before starting Zoe's Tale, I was obviously familiar with the overall outcome. Getting there through Zoë's eyes was a treat, and I'm curious as to whether my wife will feel the same way.

Well, it is not often that Kris makes a point of recommending a book to me (our literary tastes differing as they do), so I have grabbed this off the shelf and will try it. Not much else to do today, except wipe Kyle's nose and observe him for EWSV. No, it's not a new virus; it stands for Early Warning Signs of Vomiting. I wasn't watching carefully enough this morning and there was an unfortunate incident.

[Kris Johnson]

I just started The Touch by F. Paul Wilson. I may also shortly begin reading Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson, just because "Brandon Sanderson" is fun to say.

Brandon Sanderson.

Brandon Sanderson.

Brandon.

Sanderson.

Sandon Branderson.

Sander Brandonson.

Sunder Brundlefly.

[Nycteris]

Just finished reading His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik, and am utterly in love with the series and must immediately get book 2.

[Kris Johnson]

Just finished reading His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik, and am utterly in love with the series and must immediately get book 2.

I have the first book but have yet to read it, so I'm glad to see a positive review.