December: What are you reading?

[Brian G Turner]

While at work today I noticed there was a book shelf in the staff area. One of the first I picked out was Black Notice by Patricia Cornwell.

I don't think I've read anything by her before, but it opened with a good hook, clean prose, and strong pace.

It promises to be a well-written thriller, so I've brought it home to check if it lives up to initial expectations.

 

[Randy M.]

I've read one by Cornwell and it was interesting but didn't hook me enough to follow up. I'll be interested in hearing your thoughts, Brian.

Nearly done with A Feast of Sorrows by Angela Slatter. I'm enjoying it. A collection of short stories, fantasy with some darkness and the feel of fairy tales.

Randy M.

 

[Extollager]

Just finished rereading Richard Adams's The Girl in a Swing, and thought I'd start an Adams discussion place if anyone's interested.

Richard Adams: Watership, Shardik, Girl in a Swing, and more

 

[Paul_C]

Just finished Who? - Algis Budrys and now I'm making up my mind whether to finally make a start on Inverted World or side-step once again and read The Three-Body Problem, currently I'm leaning toward Inverted World.

 

[biodroid]

75% into Wolf in Shadow but it's really speeding up now.

 

[Extollager]

Just finished Who? - Algis Budrys and now I'm making up my mind whether to finally make a start on Inverted World or side-step once again and read The Three-Body Problem, currently I'm leaning toward Inverted World.

Your mention of Who? reminds me to take it with me to read on the plane today. Thanks!

 

[Foxbat]

Reading our very own Stephen Palmer's Girl With Two Souls (volume 1 of the trilogy) and thoroughly enjoying it so far (about 70% through). I think it's as well-written - and perhaps even better than- Beautiful Intelligence.

Stephen may well shoot me down in flames here but, thematically, I'm finding it almost a mirror image of Beautiful Intelligence.

Will be starting volume 2 as soon as I've finished volume 1

 

[Stephen Palmer]

Lots of similarities of philosophical theme, for sure.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Reading our very own Stephen Palmer's Girl With Two Souls (volume 1 of the trilogy) and thoroughly enjoying it so far (about 70% through).

And so am I! So far, I'm finding it compelling.

 

[AE35Unit]

Now re-reading 2001 A Space Odyssey.
It's the one book that get's me back into reading SF

 

[Alexa]

Reading Sweet Temptation, by Wendy Higgins.
This is a companion novel to the Sweet Evil trilogy with the story told from Kaidan Rowe's point of view. Novels with Nephilims, demons and angels, fathers and children, love and hate, good and evil and of course with teens stuck in the gray area in between. A paranormal romance. Much darker and more mature than Anna's story.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Taking a break from my pile of old science fiction with The Tastemakers: Why We're Crazy For Cupcakes But Fed Up With Fondue (Plus Baconomics, Superfoods, And Other Secrets From The World Of Food Trends) (2014) by David Sax. The insanely long title should be self-explanatory.

 

[Vertigo]

The Lords of the North by Bernard Cornwell - another excellent instalment in Cornwell's Saxon series (The Last Kingdom on TV) - no time for a review but this is really just more of Cornwell's excellent story telling!
The Girl with Two Souls by Stephen Palmer - A very good YA book from our very own Stephen. More here.
Dead Air by Iain Banks - Probably my most disappointing read from Banks so far. A little more here.

 

[tobl]

The Fall of the House of Cabal - i really appreciatte the style

 

[hitmouse]

I have just finished Death's End, the last book in cixin Liu's Dark Forest trilogy. I mentioned I was reading this in the November thread, and that I was impressed with the book then.
Even more so on completingt the book. The density of interesting ideas, spanning game theory, social psychology, physics, cosmology, time travel, the end of the universe, is really very impressive. The book goes, from a fairly prosaic start, through a series of more and more staggering developments, all well sustained and justified. Brilliant.

 

[HanaBi]

Grave Peril (The Dresden Files, #3)

Am on the 3rd book of Jim Butcher's "Dresden Files". "Fool Moon" (book 2), was a considerable step-up from "Storm Front", but am still not not entirely engrossed in the characters at present. But I enjoyed the pulp-fiction feel, with plenty of action, thrills and spills along the way. So am hoping "Grave Peril" will develop the lead characters into fully rounded ones rather than comic-style.

 

[Caliban]

I have just finished Death's End, the last book in cixin Liu's Dark Forest trilogy. I mentioned I was reading this in the November thread, and that I was impressed with the book then.
Even more so on completingt the book. The density of interesting ideas, spanning game theory, social psychology, physics, cosmology, time travel, the end of the universe, is really very impressive. The book goes, from a fairly prosaic start, through a series of more and more staggering developments, all well sustained and justified. Brilliant.

Would you say the three books form one story or are they separate entities within one setting?

 

[thaddeus6th]

Just begun Rome and Italy, by Livy. Probably take me ages, not reading much nowadays.

 

[Brian G Turner]

Just begun Rome and Italy, by Livy. Probably take me ages, not reading much nowadays.

Livy wasn't a favourite of mine. The volumes of history I read by him essentially repeated the message of: "And then disaster occurred, because the unwashed masses wouldn't accept their place beneath the dignified nobility".

 

[hitmouse]

Would you say the three books form one story or are they separate entities within one setting?

One episodic story really. Can be read as separate novels but the underlying themes and common characters would make that a bit pointless.