Whatcha Reading?

[Nycteris]

Now I am reading The Friar and the Cipher: Roger Bacon and the Unsolved Mystery of the Most Unusual Manuscript in the World by Lawrence Goldstone.
A book about the mysterious Voynich Manuscript.

[Nycteris]

Finally started reading a Dresden book (Fool Moon, because Storm Front was checked out).
So far I like it.
So far is only 7 chapters in.

[Kris Johnson]

I finished The Touch a few days ago. It's a quick read, provided you actually sit down and read it. That F. Paul Wilson, he's no fan of the socialized medicine.

I'm in the last third of Glasshouse by Charles Stross right now, and it's good. He plays a lot with gender and relationship roles in this one, as well as asking questions about how much of what makes us "us" spawns from our relationships with other people and/or our own memories. Good book, so far.

I'm also still cranking away at Anathem, despite the fact that it was due back at the library almost a week ago. Shhhh!

[Kris Johnson]

I finished Glasshouse this afternoon and I was quite pleased with it. A lot happened in the last 20 pages or so and I was worried that Stross wasn't going to wrap it up to my satisfaction, but my worry was unfounded. Very satisfying read. I give it a 4...out of 5.

Anathem started dragging a bit after about the halfway point (after Erasmus reached the convox), but it's picked up again and I've got five discs to go.

Last night I picked up the second and third books in Naomi Novik's Tremeraire series, which means I've got to buckle down and read the first, His Majesty's Dragon. I dug it out of the "I'll read this next" drawer (which currently contains about ten books) on my nightstand.

Oh, and I'm reading Lamb. No, really. I am.

[Nycteris]

Still finishing Fool Moon, (I would rather be finishing it right now, it is kind of gripping...) also reading Book 2 of the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik, same series Kris is hoarding in a drawer but not reading.  I am reading the Yggyssey which is book two in a series by Pinkwater (a children's book, and so very fun, it really should not be filed in J because it is clever on levels kids won't get), because I couldn't find book one. I'm reading a load of sequels! But they are all excellent.

I would say that Harry Dresden is charging his way lower and lower on the list-of-novel-protagonists-I'd-ever-want-to-change-places-with. Though if there were a list-of-novel-protagonists-I'd-like-to-comfort-with-a-plate-of-warm-cookies he'd be on it.

[Kris Johnson]

I haven't started (all of) them yet, but I recently purchased a handful of stuff from Audible. They've got me right where they want me with their special offers and limited-time sales.

• Sun of Suns: Book One of the Virga by Karl Schroeder. Okay, this was neither recent nor purchased; it was my freebie for signing up with the special deal offered at Pseudopod.
• The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan, read by Ron Perlman. Yeah, this was the first thing I bought with the credits from my three-month discounted membership deal. Unfortunately, the download for the second part didn't work, so I had to select a different, lower-quality format for the time being.
• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. This was one of those, "just for you, valid only until you close this window" deals. I think I paid four bucks for it.
• Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke. I borrowed the audio version from the library once upon a yesterday and only got through the first couple of discs before I had to return it. Curses! But now it's mine! Mine! All mine! Mu-hahahahahaha! Yes, I actually own two different copies of the pulp and ink version of this book. Shut up, you!
• Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison. It was on sale!
• A short story by Neil Gaiman. I can't remember the title off the top of my head. It was free.

[Nycteris]

I liked Jonathan Strange enough to write fan fiction of it. 

[Kris Johnson]

[...]also reading Book 2 of the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik, same series Kris is hoarding in a drawer but not reading[...]

If you haven't yet purchased Book 3, you're welcome to borrow my copy. I predict it'll be a while before I'm ready to read it.

I would say that Harry Dresden is charging his way lower and lower on the list-of-novel-protagonists-I'd-ever-want-to-change-places-with. Though if there were a list-of-novel-protagonists-I'd-like-to-comfort-with-a-plate-of-warm-cookies he'd be on it.

I suspect Harry would appreciate the cookies, but having only read the first book in that series I can't say for certain.

[Kris Johnson]

Oh, hey, I almost forgot: I picked up DOC SAVAGE #14: "The Man of Bronze" & "The Land of Terror" earlier this week. I started reading the former, as it is pretty much the origin story of a character I've seen tons of references to but have never read. The writing style is very...stilted? Clippy? Choppy? I'm not sure how to describe it. Here's a sample:

Apparently no sound had entered the room. But the big bronze man left his chair. He went to the door. The hand he opened the door with was long-fingered, supple. Yet its enormous tendons were like cables under a thin film of bronze lacquer.

See what I mean? It seems to pick up a slightly smoother flow toward the end of the first paragraph, but those first three sentences are like sharp slaps.

[Nycteris]

Oh I picked up Brand of the Werewolf / Fear Cay (Doc Savage, Vol. 13) - we can trade sometime!

[NukeHavoc]

I'm slowly working my way through my collection of unread audio books (I too used to use Audible, but then I got a job closer to home, and stopped listening). So far I've read The Far Side of the World and The Reverse of the Medal by Patrick O'Brien. Both are Jack Aubrey books (naval historical fiction during the Age of Sail, late 1700s, early 1800s).

In print I just read a bunch of space opera books, including Redemption Ark by Alastair Reynolds, The Dreaming Void by Peter F. Hamilton and Dauntless by Jack Campbell. I just moved on to the Space Opera Renaissance (a rather hefty short story anthology), which I've only just cracked.

[Kris Johnson]

I'm slowly working my way through my collection of unread audio books (I too used to use Audible, but then I got a job closer to home, and stopped listening). So far I've read The Far Side of the World and The Reverse of the Medal by Patrick O'Brien. Both are Jack Aubrey books (naval historical fiction during the Age of Sail, late 1700s, early 1800s).

I have the print edition of Master and Commander, the first Aubrey/Maturin novel by Patrick O'Brien, but I've never finished it. I need to put it on one of my future reading lists.

On the topic of historical naval fiction, I think Naomi Novik = Patrick O'Brien Lite + Dragons. When I say "Patrick O'Brien Lite", I don't mean it to be disparaging at all; I just think Novik's handling of the era—while certainly done very well in my uneducated opinion—is a little more accessible than O'Brien's. As I mentioned elsewhere, my fear in going back to O'Brien after reading Novik is that I'll want Jack Aubrey to find a dragon egg...

In print I just read a bunch of space opera books, including Redemption Ark by Alastair Reynolds, The Dreaming Void by Peter F. Hamilton and Dauntless by Jack Campbell. I just moved on to the Space Opera Renaissance (a rather hefty short story anthology), which I've only just cracked.

I'd like to pick up some Reynolds at some point, especially after hearing Overlord Miller talk about it with Thomas Gideon on the show. Alas, Peter F. Hamilton and Jack Campbell are two names that I've seen on the shelf but haven't been compelled to pick up before.

[P.G. Holyfield]

Just finished Dune: House Harkonnen (enjoying the Brian Herbert/Kevin J. Anderson more than I ever thought I would). Starting two novels at the same time now... Dune: House Corrino (last in the prequel House trilogy), and Mistborn, by Brandon Sanderson.

[Kris Johnson]

Just finished Dune: House Harkonnen (enjoying the Brian Herbert/Kevin J. Anderson more than I ever thought I would). Starting two novels at the same time now... Dune: House Corrino (last in the prequel House trilogy), and Mistborn, by Brandon Sanderson.

I'm fairly certain admitting you like anything Dune-related (or anything else) written by Kevin J. Anderson is a good way to get eaten by Shai Hulud rabid sci-fi fans. Seriously, I know people who would banish you into the deep desert without a stillsuit for just mentioning Anderson's name.

As for me, I kind of like his stuff.