Which book(s) are you currently reading?

Discussion in 'BOARDANIA' started by Roman_K, Aug 18, 2005.

  1. colonesque10 New Member

    THUD! has finally arrived from amazon along with 'Wheres my cow' and 'Going Postal' on paperback. So there's my reading for the next couple of weeks anyway. :)
  2. Writon New Member

    Lucky...

    I have to wait till tomorrow for mine to arrive. :cry:

    Edit: Pressed post to early.
  3. Roman_K New Member

    I have read two books since I last visited yon boards. The first was Thud. I liked it. The book was more like Jingo than, say, Night Watch. More general than personal, which I must say I missed.

    The second book was Red Thunder by John Varley. The book is nothing short of exceptional. Truly one of the finest books I had the chance to read, and Jubal is truly a fantastic character.

    Methinks I shall take a small quote from the book. It was on a sign.

    That still has me laughing.
  4. shadowgirl New Member

    just finished feet of clay. now i'm reading Thud! it takes forever for me to read these days cos of my baby boy's needing attention. also my love of forums is intervering somewhat.
  5. Faerie New Member

    I'm reading the Xanth series by Peirs Anthony and the next one on my list is Swell Foop. I'm also reading the Redwall books again and I finally got Thud from the library woo-hoo!
  6. fairyliquid New Member

    I've just read American Gods by Neil Gaiman and have just started jonathan strange and mr. norrell by sussana clarke

    and my mum is coming back from india with about 15 books to add to my reading list :) I gave her a list of some and told her to get one or two if she could (books are cheaper over there)...she went in and they ordered them all so I'm a happy bunny. Though i'm screaming at myself because the one book i forgot to add was thud! grrrr
  7. SunshineDaydream New Member

    Just finished Anansi Boys (Neil Gaiman) and really enjoyed it. In my opinion, it was better than American Gods. It's interesting, because most people seem to be liking one or the other but not both. I actually bought it in hardcover because I had the chance to get it autographed, so I'm glad it turned out to be so good. Next on the list is the new Elizabeth Peters-mind candy, I know, but I deserve it.
  8. Roman_K New Member

    I have just yesterday finished reading the Secrets of Power series by Robert N. Charrette. It is a series of three novels, set in the Shadowrun universe, which a futuristic version of our world, cyberpunkish in nature, with magic in it, to boot.

    As corny as it may sound, this actually works.

    Now, the first novel, Never Deal With a Dragon, is a very good book. Exceptional, even. The second book, Choose Your Enemies Carefully, is good, but nothing special. The third book, Find Your Own Truth, is okay, verging on bad. The third book does plenty to ruin several aspects of the series which I quite liked. Still, it was worth reading.
  9. Perdita New Member


    Good luck with the Susanna Clarke book

    I found it quite hard to get through, infact unlike most things I 've ever read I actually never finished it (well OK I didn't finish The Scarlet Letter) I actully really enjoyed the Jonathon strange (etc) book but found it really cumbersome to carry around (hardback version) I think the reason I stopped was because I left it for a few days and just never went back to it again.

    I think I would need to take a day off work and re-read the whole thing again!
  10. fairyliquid New Member

    well i've made it to chapter 3...not much to brag about really but even the paperback is a lot to lug around. Only about 950 odd pages to go...
  11. Roman_K New Member

    More books have been read by yours truly.

    2XS by Nigel Findley, another Shadowrun novel. The author took the 'hard boiled' style of private detective novels, and made a far better use of it in a futuristic Cyberpunk world than I thought possible. A gem, and a reccomended read if you happen to run into it.

    Into the Shadows, a collection of short stories, edited by Jordan K. Weisman, again set in the Shadowrun world. What I found especially likable about this collection is that the stories all share a common main plot, and are shown as different aspects and events, smaller stories within the larger picture, as it were. My personal favourite among the stories was The Whitechapel Rose by Lorelei Shannon. The book is worth looking up just for this one story.

    American Gods, by Neil Gaiman. A fantastic piece of literature, even though the end was kind of... shite, but only shite when compared to the rest of the book. Another book worth looking up.
  12. Roman_K New Member

    Recently finished reading Mario Puzo's The Last Don. I was not impressed.

    Currently reading Tad Williams' Stone of Farewell, and enjoying it. Williams has a gift of turning cliche ideas into good books, and streching a rather small plot over almost a thousand books. He writes well, though the pace might not be agreeable to some.
  13. Dane New Member

    I have finally gotten my hands on a copy of Thud! so I'm reading that at the moment and enjoying it immensly however thats spelt :?
  14. TamyraMcG Active Member

    I finally finished Wicked and just before that I finally finished Christopher Stasheff's Saint Vidicon to the Rescue. I am in the middle of a David Weber book, Crown of Slaves, and when that is done I have his, Shadow of Saganami, waiting. I would have thought I'd have been able to get more reading done, since I've been home sick but I guess I've just been too sick.
  15. Cynth New Member

    Busy with Micheal Moorcock's Stormbringer which is a collection of short(ish) stories about the Eternal Champion.
    I must say..its deliciously morbid.But I like that kind of stuff. I like the characters though - first time i've read some of his stuff and it's very good.
  16. Roman_K New Member

    I have picked up The Bounty Trilogy by James Hall and Charles Nordhoff. This historical novel tells the story of HMS Bounty, and the mutiny on it near Tahiti.

    Story's true, by the way. Also, a bit dull. I have put the book on hold for now.

    In its stead for now, I have decided to continue the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn Trilogy by Tad Williams. To Green Angel Tower has been split into two huge tomes by this author. He scares me a bit with his books, but he makes me see what the characters think and feel far better than most. Streched, but good.
  17. Hex New Member

    In my Science Fiction class (yes, it is a class at my school!) I'm currently reading Farenheit 451, which is brilliant. I'm also reading Dune, and thinking about re-reading Harry Potter 4 before I go see it at the movies so I can critique it appropriately. :)
  18. peapod_j New Member

    at the moment i am reeding the last contanent and i will still have 5 more terry pratchett books left to read. my favorot book at the moment is Thud! it is the best book yet and very deep.
  19. sampanna New Member

    Funny, isn't it? :)
  20. fairyliquid New Member

    Certainly an odd irony there sampanna!


    I have set aside Jonathan strange and mr. norrell (which i am 1/3 of the way through) for the moment to read anansi boys by neil gaiman so I can take part in this on-line reading group for it...should be interesting and am enjoying the book thoroughly so far.

    I hate it during term time as I really cannot concentrate fully on long books...I'm thinking of trying some friends advie and jumping to short stories until the holidays...
  21. BadAnnie New Member

    I finished reading Thud last weekend.

    Now Im reading Good Omens for the second time.

    No matter how many times a year I go book shopping I always end up reading a Pratchett.

    Go figure
  22. Delphine New Member

    I'm doing Science Fiction at uni as well.

    I'm reading The Time Travelers Wife for it. It's excellent. Raises interesting issues about the nature of identity in the concept of time travel. Kind of a time travel science fiction love story.

    However, head-breaking discussions about time travel aren't the best thing for a tuesday morning.

    edited to remedy half arsed ubb coding.
  23. Cynical_Youth New Member

    I'm reading A Long Long Way by Sebastian Barry at the moment. It is very good. Reading is starting to take more and more time, though. I just finished a lit course at uni, which in effect means I see more and more in the details. There's symbolism everywhere! :)

    I have The Sea by Banville (Booker Prize winner) lined up for when I finish this.
  24. Bradthewonderllama New Member

    I just finished Son of a Witch by Gregory MacGuire.
    It's no where near as good as Wicked, yet written in the same style. I suppose that I enjoyed Wicked so much because of it's new take on Oz (Not Australia).

    Currently, I'm rereading Tailchaser's Song.
  25. Roman_K New Member

    Finished To Green Angel Tower at last. I've gotten used to the slow paced and high quality writing of the book, so the end was... meh. It looked a rushed job to me, and a rather botched one.

    Next up on my reading list was Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini. A good enough book, though certainly not the best I've read. It had it's shining points.
  26. Hsing Moderator

    I almost finished "The thirtienth Village" ("Pardonnez nos offenses") by Romain Sardou. It's "Das dreizehnte Dorf" in German, and there is no english version available on amazon.co.uk., so recommending it may make no sense at all...

    It was pretty dark, but well written, and managed to tie all loose ends in a surprising and depressing last chapter.

    I've also finished "The Naked Pioneer Girl" by Mikhail Kononov. From the book reviews I had read, I had worries i had to expect something more... voyeuristic, something more bluntly cut out to be a scandal book. I was pretty dissapointed by "Shanghai baby" for that reason, because it simply lacked any other qualitiy (which, of course, could always be blamed on translation, but still...) I found Kononov to be highly recommendable, and as soon as I have a little more time at my hands, I'll explain why...
  27. colonesque10 New Member

    I've had so much on the last 6 weeks that i'm still only half of the way through THUD and I don't seem to have the energy to pick it up again yet. I am reading Robbie Fowlers autobiography though, i'm surprised he can even write :D GOD!
  28. Electric_Man Templar

    I'm always surprised you can read, especially as you never seem to find the MSN log-in button on your computer...
  29. colonesque10 New Member

    It's the thought of you on the other end of computer, probably naked and eating jelly, that puts me off pressing the button. :shock:
  30. Electric_Man Templar

    My work will turn a blind eye to me being on msn but they aren't that liberal.
  31. koshu New Member

    Well i am proud to say that as from today i now own all the novels and almost all the other books. all i still need to buy is Pratchett portfolio 2 and the diaries. any way the only one i havn't read yet is Eric so im planning on starting that this weak. :eek:

    Ive just read a couple of Garth nix's books as space fillers and i thought they were really good. :roll:
  32. Hex New Member

    Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh.

    Childhood's End by Ray Bradbury.

    Both are very good books, though the first can be a bit hard to follow, since it's all in dialect.
  33. fairyliquid New Member

    I've been reading so many I have forgotten...I keep forgetting and picking up the first thing I see, so there are now about 5 novels by my bed...each about 50 pages in.

    Christmas..I am going to finish jonathan strange and mr Norell by sussana Clarke, Holy Cow by Sarah MacDonald (my mum is determined to give me as much info on India as possibly), Pride and Prejudice (I just saw the move and have decided I really should read it), and probably about 5 others.

    We are having a family holiday so Im spending as much time curled up with a book as possibly.
  34. Willmolly3 New Member

    Small Gods which I have nearly finished! I now I say this with each book I read of Terrys but this could be the Best I have read yet.
  35. Smoking_GNU New Member

    Fiiinally got Eric. Saw it in a bookstore and immediately baught it. Haven't even seen it in 8 years. What a lucky boy am I. Oh, and I am also reading it.
  36. TamyraMcG Active Member

    I just finished Witches Abroad, I don't know how I missed it but it was fun and filled in a lot of things about the Lancre trio. I have been reading Ill Met By Moonlight by Mercedes Lackey. Elizabeth I and Elves, it is very interesting but I'm not supposed to be reading right now. I do it anyway because if I don't I go through withdrawal.
  37. Ivan_the_terrible New Member

    Robert Sheckley is dead... :cry:

    I managed to talk to him for a couple of minutes this year, when he visited SF forum in Kiev...

    He was a great man a great writer... :cry:
  38. Perdita New Member

    My sister bought me the Philip Pullman trilogy for Christmas (well she actually only got me the first two and I bought the last one)- Northern Lights, The Subtle knife and The Amber Spyglass.

    I eventually got round to start reading them last week and I finished reading the third one yesterday. The first one I couldn't put it down and the other two perhaps not as much but it's like all trilogy's once you've started you have to continue and read them all!

    I have now started reading The Labyrinth by Kate Mosse . It seems to be a Dan Brown rip off type book but I can't say for totally sure I've only read 30/40 pages! :)



    Edit: To add - did anyone else get any good books over the 'festive season'
  39. Rincewind Number One Doorman

    Not really. My mother bought me 'Prey' a Micheal Criten book and some Star Wars book. But they wheren't x-mas gifts just books she bough ages ago in a charity shop, but hadn't seen me before to give them to me.

    I bought myself some books. 'To Kill a Mocking Bird' which was bloody great. 'Heart of a Dog' by Mikhail Bulgakov. Which I enjoyed but was very unsure about. In the shop there where two different versions and the translations in each where really different, so i kinda got the feeling that I wasn't reading the true book.
    I'm reading 'Sophies World' now which is philosophytastic!
    I also got the 'Wasp Factory' by Ian Banks, which is meant to be really dark. I've never read any of this stuff before anyone knwo if hes any good?
  40. Guest Guest

    I just started reading the 5th Elephant (i know i know you all probably read it and i am so slow) but i can't get into it at all!
    I finished Jingo in 48hours and pretty much the same with Monstrous Regiment.
    I thought it would help me to get stuck in a book while i'm trying to quit smoking but i started 5th on Monday its now Thursday and i only read 30 pages......Please tell me the rest of the book is easier to get into?

    :cry:
  41. Katcal I Aten't French !

    Hogfather !!! I've been reading so much crap lately, it's good to get back to Pterry, there is so much I have forgotten, or missed the first time... And my signed copy of Thud! is in the post, should get here someday soon if not today... Yey !
  42. fairyliquid New Member

    Narnia....not sure why I have never read it before...

    I'm also flicking through Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman every now and again. Some of his short stories are excellent...my favourite by far is 'Babycakes' though it is a little disturbing
  43. Hsing Moderator

    Reading over this thread, I sometimes think that a few of these books would deserve a thread of their own, where they could be recommended and reviewed at lenght or discussed. This thread rather gives a general impression of what people read, but I've seldomly seen a discussion evolve within it. What do you think?
  44. Rincewind Number One Doorman

    Fairy, Have you read his re-telling of the snow white story? If not read it, it's brillant. Such a dark, but cool twist on the tale.
  45. fairyliquid New Member

    Rinso...whats the story called?

    Hsing....might be an interesting idea...the prblem is where to start....and making sure enough people have read the book
  46. Rincewind Number One Doorman

    Um, I'm not sure. It's near the back of the book and it's called soemthing like 'red lips, white snow'. Or something.
  47. fairyliquid New Member

    ah...'Snow, Glass, Apples' perhaps...?

    Haven't read it yet but I think I shall do that now. I have nout else to do :(
  48. Rincewind Number One Doorman

    Yep. Thats it. Read it now. Let us know what you think!
  49. fairyliquid New Member

    Wow, I see what you mean. It is a bit of an interesting twist!

    Spoiler
    edit to add some stuff
  50. Cynical_Youth New Member

    Read parts of The Canterbury Tales for uni. Chaucery goodness!

    Book discussions would be cool, only there are always a limited number people who have read the book and are willing to discuss it.
  51. Roman_K New Member

    I'm currently reading The Isle of Rus by Yuri Burkin and Sergei Lukyanenko. Good science fiction, and very good parody.
  52. Roman_K New Member

    Read The Broker by John Grisham recently. Few of the books I've read are so completely lacking in character, so flat, uninteresting, and plot-lacking. The man who wrote The Pelican Brief and The Firm is simply not there anymore, or if he is, he wasn't there when this book was written.

    Also read The Final Detail by Harlan Coben, and enjoyed it very much. Coben does to detective thrillers what few others do.

    I'm currently splitting my time between the Strugatzky Brothers' Picnic on the Roadside, and Harlan Coben's Tell No One, and I'm enjoying both.
  53. Sir_Vaims New Member

    I in the middle of Digital Fortress by Dan Brown! It certainly caught my attention!
  54. roisindubh211 New Member

    for the discussion idea: someone could pick any one that sounds interesting and set a date for discussion. We all rush out to the shop and/or library and read it before then. It could work pretty well
  55. TamyraMcG Active Member

    I recently finished the Salmon of Doubt, a collection of Douglas Adams unfinished works and some previously published short articles and letters. It was sort of heartbreaking to think of everything we are going to miss now that he is gone.

    I went to Book World and I found the two volume set of Eddings' Mallorean. I had to get it and The Ring of Fire. an anthology from the 1632 world created by Eric Flint, as well as Lost and Found by Allen Dean Foster and another anthology, Masters of Fantasy. Then a couple of days later I bought When Will Jesus Bring The Porkchops? by George Carlin. I am going to have to ration the Carlin book unless I want to herniate myself laughing.
  56. Pepster New Member

    I have just recently finished reading Neil Gaiman's "Anansi Boys" and recently before that "Neverwhere". Both twisted stories of dark humour that can be downright disturbing at times aswell as immensly funny at others, and sometimes both at Gaiman's best.

    In between the two books above I read the high druid of sharnnara trilogy by terry brooks. Which were good but the plot was slightly predictable come halfway through the second book.

    Currently I'm a few chapters into the Science of Disworld 3, and should be reading a bunch of Journals on surfactant adsorption at the solid-water interface aswell as a selection on the toxicoly of NPEO surfactants to aquatic life.
  57. Rincewind Number One Doorman

    I love Neil Gaimans stuff. Have you read 'American Gods' Pepster? It's the best one, says I.
  58. mowgli New Member


    "Picnic on the Roadside" whooooooo!!! Long live the Strugatskys (Well, only one of them by now :( ), their twisted realities and complete disregard for the reader's peace of mind!

    (My absolute favorite is "Monday begins on Saturday" - it's very Pratchett-like, humor wise! - my other two favorites "It's hard to be a god" (Trudno byt' Bogom) and "The Devil amongst the people" (Dyavol sredi liudei) are unbelievably depressing)
  59. Human New Member

    Just finished Jonothan Strange & Mr. Norrell. My head is still spinning from the awesomeness of it.

    I'm also in the middle of The Mysterious Stranger, as Mark Twain ranks just below Terry Pratchett in my favorite authors of all time.
  60. Roman_K New Member

    Read two of those three a few weeks ago. Monday Begins on Saturday is one of the best I've ever read in my entire life, and I've read quite a few. It's Hard to be a God was in the same collection, so I read that one as well. A very good piece of literature, though indeed on the darkish side. Still, I didn't find it overtly depressing.

    Finished reading Picnic on the Roadside, by the way. I'm now reading "At the Dead Alphynist Motel"(Отел "У Погибшего Алпиниста").

    Oh, and if you're wondering how it is that my written Russian has so drastically improven, a Firefox extension is to blame. It allows me to write Russian in English, as it were(like you did, only it translates the English characters to the relevant Russian ones. ToCyrillic, if you happen to use Firefox.

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