What Are You Reading, Part 2

[Draginon he/him]

Finished Murder on the Links yesterday. Not as golf centric as the title implies since the body was only found on the golf course.

Its actually kind of amusing how much of a romantic Poirot is since he can look at two people and instantly tell they like each other and tells Hastings to ‘back off’ from the girl, not that it helps since Hastings is a Casanova falling in love with every ‘goddess’ he sees. Even this book has Poirot help Hastings get together with his future wife by the end. It’s just amusing since Poirot is such a rational person and doesn’t like getting into sentimentality at all. So in essence Poirot is all ‘get your mind out of that gutter and focus’ but when he sees it’s true, innocent love he’s a wingman!

Next up is The Man in the Brown Suit which is a stand alone since the characters don’t become regulars like Poirot, Marple or Tommy & Tuppence.

[Eluvianii he/him]

A slice-of-life story that goes on forever while still being enjoyable is kind of a dream of mine. I've recently started reading The Wandering Inn and have been made aware of its ridiculous word count. 

Prose can get weird and the tone is extremely inconsistent (from full comedy to borderline grimdark in a couple chapters) but I hear it's just the first volume being experimental and that it gets better after a while. Hopefully this is what I was looking for. Just have to deal with the fact that I'll likely never catch up. 

Edited June 27, 2022 by Eluvianii
Redundancy

[Spren of Kindness she/her]

I'm reading Black Unicorn right now, and I've picked up Bridge of Clay, the first Dresden Files book, The Genesis Fleet: Vanguard, and a book based on a Thomas Kinkade painting?  I dunno, that one could end being really good or really bad, I'm not sure yet, but it does intrigue me.

I could crush my library's summer reading program with these.

[Briar King]

Dresden is a great series. Enjoy. Be aware that it really takes 3 or 4 books to get to the beginning of that greatness imo.

[Lego Mistborn he/him]

I'm reading earth afire, by card & Johnston, part of the first formic war series.

[HOID WANTS INSTANT NOODLES he/him]

Im reading Malazan, Just finished wise mans fear. some recomendations for any who want one

Brandon mull( mostly for younger readers but fablehaven is pretty good)

Septimus heap

the book of boy

moonfleet (this is different from the others but still really good)

the mcgunnegal chronicles  (if you want to support a small author who is still really good)

The girl who circumnavigated faryland in a ship of her own making

M.R James ghost stories

Cornelia Funke books

sea of trolls

Seraphina

Discworld

 

 

[Quivil]

1 hour ago, HOID WANTS INSTANT NOODLES said:

The girl who circumnavigated fairyland in a ship of her own making

Is this the title of the book?!?

[HOID WANTS INSTANT NOODLES he/him]

37 minutes ago, Tani said:

Is this the title of the book?!?

Yes.

It is a different kind of book but it plays with some interesting concepts. 

[Spren of Kindness she/her]

Black Unicorn was a vibe. I'm not sure if it's a one-off thing, or if I just like Tanith Lee's writing style, but that was a good, if short, book.  Apparently there's a sequel called Gold Unicorn, so I'll read that next.

Angel Island: Harbor of the Heart is the one based on a Thomas Kinkade painting, and it was exactly what I was expecting.  Pretty simple, slice-of-life, everything turns out all right in the end, which was a very nice break from my usual fare of high stakes or heavy topic books.

The first Dresden Files book was pretty good.  I don't outrageously love it, but it wasn't bad, and a touch better than middle of the road.  I suppose I'll probably get the next one - if the same premise holds true, where each book is a single case, so it's sort of episodic or serial, I think it'll make a nice break between books.

Next up is Bridge of Clay, which I know next to nothing about (I found it on TV Tropes when it came up in a list of literature with a specific trope, which doesn't tell you much), but I'm excited to read.  Then The Genesis Fleet: Vanguard, which I'm hoping I'll like a bit more than the other Jack Campbell book I read.

[Dunkum he/him]

43 minutes ago, Spren of Kindness said:

The first Dresden Files book was pretty good.  I don't outrageously love it, but it wasn't bad, and a touch better than middle of the road.  I suppose I'll probably get the next one - if the same premise holds true, where each book is a single case, so it's sort of episodic or serial, I think it'll make a nice break between books.

That is mostly going to be true, though as things progress you'll get recurring characters and permanent changes to things. I think the only books that aren't truly single episodes are the most recent 2, which probably should have been a single large book instead of 2 smaller ones.

[EmulatonStromenkiin he/him]

On 6/21/2022 at 11:50 AM, Tani said:

I think the stories are definitely interesting the first time, and I like the world and character ideas. I probably wouldn't reread the whole series, but might (if I was bored and didn't have more interesting things to read) pick through for the funny parts. I still enjoy that world and the characters, and am reading the new ones as I get access to them. The books haven't reused plots from earlier books in the series (as far as I know and remember)

Have you read the Brotherband Chronicles?

[Spren of Kindness she/her]

I didn't like Bridge of Clay as much as I expected to - it's definitely good, just not quite my style.

Gold Unicorn was... interesting.  That's the only way I can describe this book, and the previous one, Black Unicorn.  They're good.  But I can't help feeling like something is missing.  I do like the way it reads almost like a children's fairy tale, but simultaneously is for an older audience.

Blade of Secrets was definitely my favorite of this week.  It's about a blacksmith with social anxiety who makes a very powerful magic sword.  It's not the best thing I've ever read, but I did quite enjoy it.  I think most of the characters were well done, and the romance was good - I was even rooting for it, which is not common for me.

[Elegy he/him]

I'm re-reading Warbreaker!

It's been a while. I don't know where to begin, it's all so fantastic. I'm half-way through now. The beginning was way more exciting than I remembered. The way the three main stories interact in sometimes very subtle ways is beautiful, and I love how they show different layers of the city's society, so the picture of that place just feels extraordinarily complete! I think T'Telir might be my favorite of the many cool cities in the Cosmere books (rivaled only by Luthadel), for that very reason.

Now I'm at the part where Vivenna's chapters get a bit repetitive, and Siri (my favorite of the three main story lines, I just love the intrigue of the mysteries in the palace) doesn't get as much attention. But I'm very excited for the part when everything picks up again and one of my grumpy favorite characters gets the spotlight 

[Spren of Kindness she/her]

The second Dresden book was pretty okay.  I feel like some things are done pretty well, and some things not so much, but that's to be expected for any story, really.

I'm rereading The Great Hunt!  I've noticed on this reread of the Wheel of Time that Jordan's writing style is a fair sight easier for me to read than Tolkien.  Some of that is definitely font styles and line spacing, but in general, I was pretty surprised at how much I managed to get through today.  I also have the added advantage of sort of understanding the plot and having characters drilled into my head for fourteen books.  By golly, the characters we follow are so different from where they will be at this point in the story.

I'm also reading Make, Sew, Mend by Bernadette Banner, which already promises to be very informative, and hopefully helpful for my own sewing hobby.

After those two, I've got The Book of Lost Tales: Volume One, the first History of Middle-earth book and The Dragon Reborn.  I'm really excited for the Book of Lost Tales, watching the stories change and seeing what stays the same is really fun for me, plus it's nice and dense, so it'll take me time and work to read it.

[Elegy he/him]

On to an Elantris reread (also long overdue). It's immediately apparent how Brandon has grown as a writer between this and Warbreaker. The writing is really clunky at places and the scenes don't flow as well . .  . But still, Hrathen is an early top tier Sanderson character and his key elements (twists, world buiding, character development) are already in great shape. I also remember Elantris as one of the few Sanderson books that just constantly get better and better, basically on a chapter per chapter basis, without that certain mid-book slump, so we'll see 

[solarcat she/her]

I am to start Oathbringer (for the first time) today. It was supposed to arrive in the mail yesterday lest the rain delayed it oof.

Edited July 14, 2022 by solarcat93

[Spren of Kindness she/her]

Finished The Book of Lost Tales Volume One.  I really like this.  It's difficult enough to make me think, and the prose is really beautiful, so I enjoy meandering.  

I'm through 'Of Turin Turumbar' in The Silmarillion.  This is another one that makes me think, but it's written really beautifully, so it's little surprise that I like this book so much.

Next up: The Dragon Reborn!

[urrutiap]

Going to be reading Hyperion Rise of Endymion the rest of this month and in August

[Elegy he/him]

Finished The Final Empire. Still one of the best books I've ever read, all these years later. I feel it's got that extra spark even among Sanderson's work, like he was extra inspired when he wrote it. The story just flows extremely well.

Two things I didn't really notice back then but bothered me a bit now: The prose during dialogue is extremely repetitive (there's one page with three "x nodded" on it, seriously), and the finale isn't quite as impressive as Sanderson's later endings. (I feel like it's a bit rushed, like instead of showing everything that happens, like Warbreaker does, it only shows one major event and only implies the other important things that happen at the same time).

Those are not all that important in the great picture though, since everything else is so on point. Kelsier and Sazed in particular are two of my favorite characters, and this re-read confirmed that once again.

Now I'm on to Well of Ascension, which I'm more lukewarm on in comparison (although I still really like it).

(Just throwing this out there, I think that with Luthadel and T'Telir, Brandon created two of the very best fantasy cities of all time. The world building on those is just spectacular, and the cultures feel so real and lively!)

Edited July 24, 2022 by Elegy

[Cosmerenomics Enthusiest.]

 

On 6/20/2022 at 9:56 PM, The hunter said:

Would the "rangers apprentice" be worth reading?

Yes they are pretty good though I wouldn't read the sequel series. The Brotherband Chronicles are also pretty good they are in the same universe

[Eluvianii he/him]

2 hours ago, Elegy said:

(Just throwing this out there, I think that with Luthadel and T'Telir, Brandon created two of the very best fantasy cities of all time. The world building on those is just spectacular, and the cultures feel so real and lively!)

I might need to reread those, because I remember the world building being the one thing I was disappointed with regarding that trilogy. 

[Spren of Kindness she/her]

The upside of driving through endless fields of corn is that I don't feel guilty about absorbing myself in my book and not looking out the window.  The downside is, there's very little to distract me.  Finished the Silmarillion, The Dragon Reborn, and Empire of Silence, all rereads.  The Dragon Reborn remains one of my favorite books in The Wheel of Time, and Empire of Silence is even better now that I've read all the published novels in the series.

Irregular reminder that you should read the Sun Eater series if you like epic science fiction and doom.

Next up, The Alloy of Law and whatever I end up getting from the library.

[Elegy he/him]

8 hours ago, Eluvianii said:

I might need to reread those, because I remember the world building being the one thing I was disappointed with regarding that trilogy. 

Interestingly, I don't even disagree with that regarding the whole world, because everything outside of Luthadel definitely feels very empty and uninteresting

But Luthadel itself is a masterpiece imo, a few reasons for that: (Very mild spoilers for Mistborn Final Empire)

Spoiler

It has a very clear aesthetic that is logical within the greater world, it shows all its castes pretty thoroughly, with interesting sociological implications (like, the skaa basically live in front of the nobles, still the nobles are so conditioned to disregard and ignore them, they don't even know if they are in any way intelligent) ... Then there's the economics the story dives into (with the atium), the whole hierarchical structure of the church (including the conflict between obligators and Inquisitors) and the interesting ways that hierarchy is enforced (the Soothing stations) ... And also, one thing I really like about it, everything is designed by the Lord Ruler, in a way, so the way it looks and how it works all implicitly chatacterize him. You don't even ever see him for most of the book, but the whole city seems like an insight into the weird mind of the person on top. Like they're all living in his nightmare and can't escape.

But yeah, Scadrial itself is not the most interesting Cosmere world to me as well, even though I am heavily invested (no pun intended) in what happens on it because of the story and the characters ^^

Edited July 25, 2022 by Elegy

[Eluvianii he/him]

19 hours ago, Elegy said:

Interestingly, I don't even disagree with that regarding the whole world, because everything outside of Luthadel definitely feels very empty and uninteresting

But Luthadel itself is a masterpiece imo, a few reasons for that: (Very mild spoilers for Mistborn Final Empire)

  Hide contents

It has a very clear aesthetic that is logical within the greater world, it shows all its castes pretty thoroughly, with interesting sociological implications (like, the skaa basically live in front of the nobles, still the nobles are so conditioned to disregard and ignore them, they don't even know if they are in any way intelligent) ... Then there's the economics the story dives into (with the atium), the whole hierarchical structure of the church (including the conflict between obligators and Inquisitors) and the interesting ways that hierarchy is enforced (the Soothing stations) ... And also, one thing I really like about it, everything is designed by the Lord Ruler, in a way, so the way it looks and how it works all implicitly chatacterize him. You don't even ever see him for most of the book, but the whole city seems like an insight into the weird mind of the person on top. Like they're all living in his nightmare and can't escape.

But yeah, Scadrial itself is not the most interesting Cosmere world to me as well, even though I am heavily invested (no pun intended) in what happens on it because of the story and the characters ^^

Well, I'm now looking forward to that reread because I only remember the aesthetic to be honest. In my head the books gave a lot of attention to establishing the look of the place, but I don't remember the actual details that you just described, which is why I was disappointed. 

Either I managed to forget all of that or my mind was focused on something else at that moment. 

[Morningtide she/her]

I'm going through the Farseer trilogy by Robin Hobb, but it's taking a bit. I love the books, but I'm also reading a few others at the same time. 

The series is incredible! The prose takes some getting used to, but I love the political intrigue and characters. Would recommend to anyone and everyone