What We're Reading in September!

[CyBeR]

Just finished 'Foundation and empire'...and I must say that I'm really enjoying Asimov's vision of the future, although it's quite dated by today. I somehow can't help but find parallels between the 'Foundation' books and the 'Dune' ones, especially with the psycohistory thing, the way the characters plan out and counter plan...anyways, could say that I'm imagining it...

I was a little disappointed in the book, basically because of the Mule part. It was a very interesting read, and I imagine he'll have a more important role in the future books...but the whole mystery surrounding him was paper thin and I had the same unpleasant experience as with 'Ubik': please dear characters, see the obvious. But nonetheless, I really enjoyed reading this...and like never before, I'm really curious as to how everything will play out in the future books.

I'm starting on 'The death of grass' today. I love me some dystopian books.

 

[Messatsu]

I'm Reading "Kindred" byt Octavia Butler and it's kicking my mind's butt just like I expected too. She builds tension like no one else (well Card does a great job in a different way) Reading "Ender in Exile" next.

 

[GOLLUM]

The Overcoat was a story of many depths,it was a great satire but also a very bleak story about the little man in an unfair,corrupt world. Captured the historical times very well.

I was very impressed by Gogol's writing and i must read much more as soon as i have book money. He surprised me with his prose,wit,characters,toying with perspectives. Bulgakov have to wait Gogol is the most impressive of Russian lit so far for me.

One of his famous short story collections next. Why go for novels when he can write masterful short stories

Well he was certainly a highly skilled writer of short fiction no doubt about that. However, I would urge you to also read his classic novel Dead Souls.

Bulgakov? I thought you had read Master and Margarita? For me Bulgakov is better than Gogol but I have most of Bulgakov's work to judge that by. To be fair they are both superb wirters IMO.

 

[Rosemary]

I'm reading 'Child of Saturn', Book One of Green Lion Trilogy by Teresa Edgerton
Have only just started but enjoying it very much.

I was very lucky to find this copy while I was in Melbourne, the first time I have ever seen one of her books.

 

[AE35Unit]

And so onto an e-book of Edison's Conquest of Mars by Garrett P.Serviss , a supposed sequel to H.G.Wells's War of the Worlds which I just finished.

 

[Pedro Del Mar]

And so onto an e-book of Edison's Conquest of Mars by Garrett P.Serviss , a supposed sequel to H.G.Wells's War of the Worlds which I just finished.

AE35Unit, would you mind dropping me a line with your thoughts on this once you've finished please? I love War of the Worlds so be interested to hear about the supposed sequel....

Thanks in advance

Crooksy.

 

[AE35Unit]

AE35Unit, would you mind dropping me a line with your thoughts on this once you've finished please? I love War of the Worlds so be interested to hear about the supposed sequel....

Thanks in advance

Crooksy.

Yea of course, will try to remember. Mind you its a short novel-149 pages on my reader so about 80 paper pages I reckon!

 

[purple_kathryn]

The Atlantis Complex - an Artemis Fowl book

and Star Trek Destiny Gods of Night

 

[Montero]

Came across Carrie Vaughn in the library. Werewolf series - main character runs a call in radio show talking about all aspects of lycanthropy, vampire-ism anything else going. Fairly typical werewolf series about coping with the changes, the pack, werewolf hunters, other supernatural beings. Well written and not thick wedges of pornography sandwiched between eroticism that some werewolf and vampire series seem to be. There are bedroom scenes, but they don't dominate. I found books three, four and five. "Kitty Takes a Holiday", "Kitty and the Silver Bullet" and "Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand". Good galloping adventure reads with a nice touch of humour.
Mind you, I first picked one off the shelf due to the "do what?" factor of the title. "Kitty Takes a Holiday" - as in what is that doing in the sff section and not the boarding school section in the kiddies bit?
Yup it is a werewolf called Kitty.

Just started "Star Risk" book one by Chris Bunch. The formation of a spacebourne mercenary troup and their first job. Military sf, slightly wacky bunch of characters, against the odds situation. Good read so far.

 

[Nikitta]

Came across Carrie Vaughn in the library. Werewolf series - main character runs a call in radio show talking about all aspects of lycanthropy, vampire-ism anything else going. Fairly typical werewolf series about coping with the changes, the pack, werewolf hunters, other supernatural beings. Well written and not thick wedges of pornography sandwiched between eroticism that some werewolf and vampire series seem to be. There are bedroom scenes, but they don't dominate. I found books three, four and five. "Kitty Takes a Holiday", "Kitty and the Silver Bullet" and "Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand". Good galloping adventure reads with a nice touch of humour.
Mind you, I first picked one off the shelf due to the "do what?" factor of the title. "Kitty Takes a Holiday" - as in what is that doing in the sff section and not the boarding school section in the kiddies bit?
Yup it is a werewolf called Kitty.

That sounds like a series I'd like.

 

[SpaceShip]

The Quest - Wilbur Smith. Following on from Warlock it is a bit more mysterious than his previous works.

 

[Pyan]

The Earth Book of Stormgate - Poul Anderson.

 

[Talysia]

I think I'm up to halfway in my Wheel of Time reread - it seems like ages since I started. I'm currently up to Lord of Chaos.

 

[Connavar]

Well he was certainly a highly skilled writer of short fiction no doubt about that. However, I would urge you to also read his classic novel Dead Souls.

Bulgakov? I thought you had read Master and Margarita? For me Bulgakov is better than Gogol but I have most of Bulgakov's work to judge that by. To be fair they are both superb wirters IMO.

No i havent read Master and Margarita only read A Country Doctor notebook so far. I cant fairly judge what i think about Bulgakov, unlike Gogol i didnt read one of his famous stories. Library has let me down with books of Bulgakov. I have to buy him now, next time i go for classic stories. Maybe at the same time as Gogol. Gogol story i enjoyed more because it was more grim,satire.

Dead Souls sound interesting, it is on my list after one of the short collections.

Seeing as how you like classics,world lit have you read Selma Lagerlöf ? I finished Emperor of Portugalien and was impressed by the realism,an epic bitersweet story about a father in denial with his love for his daughter. Funny enough it felt like a Dostejivsky,russian epic the kind Gogol is famous for starting.

 

[GOLLUM]

Seeing as how you like classics,world lit have you read Selma Lagerlöf ? I finished Emperor of Portugalien and was impressed by the realism,an epic bitersweet story about a father in denial with his love for his daughter. Funny enough it felt like a Dostejivsky,russian epic the kind Gogol is famous for starting.

No I have not but she's on the radar being the first female novelist to win the Nobel Prize. I know her Adventures of Nils is possibly her best known work but what can you reocmmend to me? I guess I'll have to source what is available in English as well.

 

[nj1]

Currently reading THE RAGGED MAN by Tom Lloyd, book 4 of the Twilight Reign series. As usual with this series I'm totally hooked and struggling to put it down. A good 'epic' fantasy series, lots of varied interresting characters, plenty of battles, good magic system and a plot that you can't pre-guess. What more could one ask for?

 

[Connavar]

No I have not but she's on the radar being the first female novelist to win the Nobel Prize. I know her Adventures of Nils is possibly her best known work but what can you reocmmend to me? I guess I'll have to source what is available in English as well.

The Emperor of Portugallia is avaliable in english and among her serious lit its the most rated,talked,analysed today. It is studied in pshycology,woman stuides for example. Her children lit is not the most known over here. She is not Astrid Lindgren.

She is known for her stories about grim,historical realism in country like,poor farmers. That kind of place she grew up in. The way Dickens,Balzac and the Russians wrote about city life, she writes about country people. You see why all those poor farmers emigrated to America,Minnosota.

I felt bad for not reading enough swedish classics and this being my second Lagerlöf novel it impressed unlike the one i read back in school as a kid. Will read much more from her.

 

[murphy]

That sounds like a series I'd like.

It is a series and while each book is a stand alone, they do build on one another. The first book is Kitty and the Midnight Hour. Kitty Norville is a DJ and has a talk show about the paranormal. Not great fiction, but they are a lot of fun and are well done. I'm quite fond of them myself.

Now doing a reread of the Tanya Huff Valor books in order to refresh for the latest one that was released this month. Good military space opera and I had forgotten how witty Huff is. Currently rereading the fourth book in the series, Valor's Trial and then on to a first-time read of The Truth of Valor.

 

[Vertigo]

Just finished Pump Six and Other Stories by Paolo Bacigalupi. Wow.... This guy has a seriously pessimistic view of our future(s). I don't think I'd call the stories by that rather over used adjective, dystopian (my understanding is that this implies some sort of repressive, controlling state), however they are certainly very dark; some post apocalyptic, some just slowly failing dysfunctional societies, some outright scary; his take on immortality is chillingly plausible.

I'm not generally much of a one for short stories but I would definitely recommend this collection, just don't expect to come away from them with any kind of warm fuzzy feeling!

Now I have a flavour for Mr Bacigalupi's writing I am going to start on The Windup Girl. Having now read two short stories set in the same world, which should certainly give me a good foundation, I'm expecting good things from this.

 

[dask]

Finished it tonight! ANATHEM by Neal Stephenson, a Christmas gift from last year, and started reading it not too long after. I didn't spend the entire nine months since reading it (I'm slow but not that slow), I've read other things during breaks, but September is already one third over and I need to start my Halloween reading. If I kept dilly-dallying it'd be January 2011 before I got finished. A little slow at the beginning --- no big deal as Mr. Stephenson was building a world more than a little strange and hard (for me at least) to grasp --- it soon picked up and became quite the page turner towards the end. The Chicago Sun-Times calls ANATHEM "a best-ever genre-crushing" novel "that defies simple classification" but, except for its monstrous size, would fit perfectly in the pages of Astounding/Analog. John W. Campbell would have loved it, Kelly Freas would have done wonders with it.

Now I've got to figure out what scary books I want to read the Halloween season. More H.P. Lovecraft stories from CALL OF CTHULHU AND OTHER WEIRD STORIES edited by the masterful S.T. Joshi for sure, but I need to find a good horror anthology, and a "modern" (or newer) novel like James Herbert's SPEAR or THE MONSTER CLUB by R. Chetwynd-Hayes, and a classic type --- maybe DRACULA or DOCTOR JEKYLL AND MISTER HYDE. What to read, what to read...?