What Are You Reading, Part 2

[Dunkum]

59 minutes ago, Wander89 said:

So I recently purchased Ursula Le Guin's illustrated Earthsea books which come in a beautiful binding with illustrations by the talented Charles Vess. A Wizard of Earthsea was the first fantasy book I'd read from start to finish and to have it all collected into 1 volume is great.

 

Highly recommended series that isn't too long, the collection is about the size of Oathbringer, yet it still manages to cram as much fun, lore and magic that it excites you completely.

does it include the various short stories set in the Earthsea world?   or just the novels?

[Wander89]

1 minute ago, Dunkum said:

does it include the various short stories set in the Earthsea world?   or just the novels?

It includes the main stories, short stories, footnotes and illustrations. Official notes:

Contents:
Introduction
“Earthsea Revisioned” (a retrospective essay by the author)
A Wizard of Earthsea
The Tombs of Atuan
The Farthest Shore
Tehanu
Tales from Earthsea
The Other Wind
“The Word of Unbinding”
“The Rule of Names”
“The Daughter of Odren” (never before published in print)
"Firelight" (never before collected with other Earthsea stories; originally published in Paris Review Summer 2018)

[Dunkum]

47 minutes ago, Wander89 said:

It includes the main stories, short stories, footnotes and illustrations. Official notes:

Contents:
Introduction
“Earthsea Revisioned” (a retrospective essay by the author)
A Wizard of Earthsea
The Tombs of Atuan
The Farthest Shore
Tehanu
Tales from Earthsea
The Other Wind
“The Word of Unbinding”
“The Rule of Names”
“The Daughter of Odren” (never before published in print)
"Firelight" (never before collected with other Earthsea stories; originally published in Paris Review Summer 2018)

good to know, thanks.

[Wander89]

28 minutes ago, Dunkum said:

good to know, thanks.

It can be a heavy price but if you're invested in the stories then it'll be a damnation treasure for you!

[Dunkum]

2 hours ago, Wander89 said:

It can be a heavy price but if you're invested in the stories then it'll be a damnation treasure for you!

to be fair, i have all of those except the last 2 already.

[Draginon]

Finished Poor Unfortunate Soul. Unlike Fairest of All and The Beast Within this book was only about 45% The Little Mermaid. It's just shy of 200 pages but I didn't get to know Ursula the same way I did with the Wicked Queen or the Beast since it focused so much more on the Odd Sisters, Nanny and Tulip (kind of sad when she's got less appearances than the title character and is more developed) I also kind of wonder how close these kingdoms are. I mean the battle against Ursula was not even an hour away from Eric's kingdom but in this book it's also visible from Morningstar kingdom.

I like the increased tiny crossover stuff with the characters mentioning Maleficent a lot and even acknowledging the previous ones with Snow White, the old king, the Wicked Queen, the Beast prince and Belle along with referencing the events of Cinderella once again. Heck there was even a reference to a Romanian with with a sing song name and a house with chicken legs

Onto Mistress of All Evil: A Tale of the Dark Fairy. I don't have the fifth book so that's the end of this series for me until the next book arrives.

[Draginon]

Finished reading Mistress of all Evil last night. I think this was my favorite one of the series. It gave me the same feels as the Evil Queens story did while Beast was horrifying and Ursula's was meh. I mean during the story all the fairies, mostly Fairy Godmother (yes the one from Cinderella) and the three fairies of Sleeping Beauty, kept bullying her despite them talking about a prophecy where she becomes evil and then she pulls a Carrie White on them. Then it's sad that she doesn't fully become evil until she becomes a mother, spells be getting immaculate here, since all her good parts became her child, not saying who that child is since it's a spoiler.

It was also a nice surprise to see Snow White back and she's much older now, her kids are married!, and still so sweet.

Pretty much with these four books I've read and the fifth I don't own yet the films connected in these books are: Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Rapunzel and Pinocchio (the Blue Fairy is in book 4 and one of the only fairies to be nice to Maleficent)

Onto the next book, The Kingdom Keepers: The Return: Legacy of Secrets (book 2 of this series, kind of want to finish reading the series I've not finished reading yet)

[Ammanas]

I usually stick to Science Fiction/Fantasy but I am currently reading a nonfiction book on the Korean War (focusing on the Chosin Reservoir campaign) called On Dangerous Ground by Hampton Sides. The author wrote one of my favorite nonfiction books ever called Ghost Soldiers, but unfortunately his other books didn't have a subject matter that interested me. I just discovered this book just came out a few months ago and really like it! The author does a good job of setting things up and weaving in these really great primary sources. I'm learning a lot!

Edited February 23, 2019 by Ammanas

[Snipexe]

3 minutes ago, Ammanas said:

The author wrote one of my favorite nonfiction books ever called Ghost Soldiers

What is Ghost Soldiers about?

[Ammanas]

It is about the Bataan Death March and the raid to rescue the survivors at the Cabanatuan camp. It is part of the  Japanese and American conflict in WW2

Edited February 23, 2019 by Ammanas

[Ghanderflaffle]

I'm currently re-reading the Half-Bad trilogy which I enjoy, but at the same time now that I've read Stormlight for the first time nothing seems to compare to Brandon's works. 

[Jaywalk]

On 2/26/2019 at 7:36 PM, 17SarcasticGhanderflaffles said:

nothing seems to compare to Brandon's works

Kinda weird how that happens. There’s a few I like more, but most books seem to pale in comparison.

Edited February 28, 2019 by Jaywalk

[Ghanderflaffle]

20 hours ago, Jaywalk said:

Kinda weird how that happens. There’s a few I like more, but most books seem to pale in comparison.

I did find a book that'll work for now. (The Lies of Locke Lamora)

[Storming Radiant]

Just finished The gatherting storm and started The towers of midnight. I can't believe how clise I am to finishing this amazing series...

It took me a while to get used to Sanderson's writing, but after that adjustment period I'm still enjoying the books a lot. The only character that still feels kinda weird is Mat. It feels like he became a walking joke...

[Dunkum]

3 hours ago, Storming Radiant said:

Just finished The gatherting storm and started The towers of midnight. I can't believe how clise I am to finishing this amazing series...

It took me a while to get used to Sanderson's writing, but after that adjustment period I'm still enjoying the books a lot. The only character that still feels kinda weird is Mat. It feels like he became a walking joke...

Yea, Brandon wasn't ever quite able to nail Mat's character, though its worse in Gathering Storm and improves a bit in the other 2 books

[Orlion Blight]

Judaism and Modernity Philosophical Essays by a Gillian Rose

[Dunkum]

Just finished the Broken Earth trilogy.  Still not a fan of the second person narration style, but it got less grating as I got used to it.  Overall they were pretty good.

[Orlion Blight]

10 minutes ago, Dunkum said:

Just finished the Broken Earth trilogy.  Still not a fan of the second person narration style, but it got less grating as I got used to it.  Overall they were pretty good.

I've only read the first one, so not sure how she does the second person narration in other two... or if there is a reason for it (in the first, it's a clear separation of the two main storylines, though after the conclusion of that first book, I'm not sure how necessary it would be) 

[Dunkum]

30 minutes ago, TheOrlionThatComesBefore said:

I've only read the first one, so not sure how she does the second person narration in other two... or if there is a reason for it (in the first, it's a clear separation of the two main storylines, though after the conclusion of that first book, I'm not sure how necessary it would be) 

it continues through the later two books, and there is a reason for it.  oddly the third book has a combination of first person, second person and third person narration, and i think it became clear somewhere in the second book who the narrator is, so by the third the narrator interjects parenthetical statements and digressions into the narration more and more - it begins to feel less like a traditional book and more like someone telling a story, which I think you wouldn't get from just a generic third person limited narrator.  She does a bit of this in the Inhertiance trilogy too, so if you've read that then some of the techniques will be a bit familiar.

[+Sorana]

2 hours ago, Dunkum said:

Just finished the Broken Earth trilogy.  Still not a fan of the second person narration style, but it got less grating as I got used to it.  Overall they were pretty good.

It took me a while to get used to it, but once I got the hang of the style, I loved them. The characters, the world, it felt real. There were so many dark elements, but still, there was always hope. It wasn't like it was only dark, to shock you as a reader, it was a part of the world, and it was logical, nothing felt staged. Especially the way the characters evolved, with the different stages in their lives. There wasn't this typical black and white, but all characters had their motivations and acted accordingly.

Actually that triology is one of my favourite series.

[Jaywalk]

I’m rereading the Seven Realms series by Cinda Williams Chima, one of my favorite all time series.

[Ammanas]

@Sorana Second person point of view is making a bit of a comeback right now. Ann Leckie is releasing a start to a new fantasy series called The Raven Tower and it looks like most of it is in second person. I am really intrigued by it and already placed a hold on the copy my library ordered. Its been getting mixed reviews so a lot of people love it or hate it. The premise of it sounds really fun!

[+Sorana]

10 hours ago, Jaywalk said:

I’m rereading the Seven Realms series by Cinda Williams Chima, one of my favorite all time series.

I liked that one! Especially the wolves! Did you also read the next one in the same setting? The shattered realm series.

1 hour ago, Ammanas said:

@Sorana Second person point of view is making a bit of a comeback right now. Ann Leckie is releasing a start to a new fantasy series called The Raven Tower and it looks like most of it is in second person. I am really intrigued by it and already placed a hold on the copy my library ordered. Its been getting mixed reviews so a lot of people love it or hate it. The premise of it sounds really fun!

You need to tell me if it's worth a read! If you like it, I'll give it a try.

[Orlion Blight]

10 hours ago, Ammanas said:

@Sorana Second person point of view is making a bit of a comeback right now. Ann Leckie is releasing a start to a new fantasy series called The Raven Tower and it looks like most of it is in second person. I am really intrigued by it and already placed a hold on the copy my library ordered. Its been getting mixed reviews so a lot of people love it or hate it. The premise of it sounds really fun!

It's a standalone

Check out @ann_leckie’s Tweet: https://twitter.com/ann_leckie/status/1101144602181025800?s=09

Edited March 4, 2019 by TheOrlionThatComesBefore

[Jaywalk]

8 hours ago, Sorana said:

I liked that one! Especially the wolves! Did you also read the next one in the same setting? The shattered realm series.

I have also read Shattered Realms. I don't love it quite as much as the first, but it's still awesome. I'm rereading in preparation for Deathcaster, the last Shattered Realms book.