By popular request (okay like three people) I present the woot book thread. Share what you are reading, give a little review, share your goodreads, or book review links.
Please follow all woot posting rules in regards to linking for profit (that’s a no-no).
Did you write a book? I would like to think it would be okay to share that info with friends (can a mod okay that?)
So ready?
Who is the author that’s got you distracted?
What are you reading?
So I’m obsessed with the series Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy
Unfortunately, the US publisher didn’t want to release anything after the 3rd book, but Dougall has told me I can order them from the UK Amazon site and that makes me infinitely happy!
The story is sort of a Harry Potter girl discovers she is magic, journey, but while Harry is sweet and innocent and goes to a bit school where he is taught magic in safety, Stephanie Edgley/Valkyrie Cain pairs up with a magic Skeleton Detective named Skulduggery Pleasant and learns to be a magic detective beating up bad guys by his side.
The first three stories are a bit formulaic, but then things change. It’s worth plowing through them to get to that point. The final book comes out soon, and I’m fairly sure not everyone will survive.
This is a YA fantasy, but there are some pretty difficult themes, including family life, growing up, what is evil, death, the end of the world, when is violence ok, politics, war, and when good guys go bad.
I’m currently reading Boots and Saddles written by Elizabeth B. Custer. It is her account of GEN Custer’s life.
I am researching Custer for a fictional novel that I am going to try and write. I usually like non-fiction, so this is going to be new territory for me.
In August, I’m going to travel to Kentucky and visit the “Custer House” in Elizabethtown. He was stationed there before he took command in North Dakota.
Custer? Well, I’m a Southerner, so I’m not a fan, but I bet he does make an interesting case study for your book.
I just finished John Grisham’s “The Brethren”. Couldn’t read it fast enough, loved it.
P.S. Thanks for the new thread. I’ll look forward to checking in and getting some recommendations for what to read next.
I just finished The Boys in the Boat, Daniel James Brown, which is not my usual reading material. About mostly one member of the crew team that won in the '36 Olympics in Berlin. I had no idea rowing was a mainstream sport in the US in that time period. And a lot of how Hitler and Goebbels window dressed Berlin for the Olympics. Admittedly, I skimmed large portions because I was more interested in the people than the background.
And today I bought a Catherine Coulter romance.
The Long Mars- Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter. It’s the third in the Long Earth series. It’s better than the second-but not as good as the first (Long Earth) which was a really good world-building speculative fiction novel.
For One More Day by Mitch Albom. Its a story about a son who loses his mother whom he had always taken for granted. His life has been in ruins and he decides to take his own life…
Basically the book tries to explore the question: what would you do if you had just one day with a loved one who has passed on.
Finishing up re-reading GOT, about 3/4 through Dances with Dragons right now.
Good to hear on Long Mars–it’s next on my list.
As is Serpent of Venice, by Christopher Moore.
KtC, I <3 you XD
I was in the middle of book four for the GoT, but WA rain struck hard and it fell as a victim to mildew. Still haven’t gotten around to replacing it because I figure I’m just going to have to re-read the whole series by the time the author releases the next book x.x So I’m kind of floating right now.
I’ll start with one that hadn’t come up in discussion yet. Anne Bishop’s Black Jewel Trilogy is pretty awesome. The names are hard to get past in the first few chapters (twists on names like Satan x.x) that would make it sound like a fan fic, but it’s saved by great writing and a very intriguing plot line. It gets a bit Mary Sue in the classic way, but again, the plot and writing make that very forgiveable. Definitely worth the read.
If you’re a fan of Jim Butcher (Dresden Files) but prefer something a bit more fantasy and a bit less modern, or are more comfortable with third person perspective instead of first, or just found the first few books too redundant to push through to the seventh, I highly recommend his Codex Alera series. It’s more light hearted than GoT, though it still definitely has its dark and shady areas that make you wonder just how screwed up some of these characters are (in all the best ways, of course). It’s not entirely unforgiving, and some of the scenes are downright heart-wrenching, but there’s also a bit more balance with humor. It feels like you’re truly watching these characters grow as you read about them and become pulled into their world. Butcher has said that he will never do third person perspective again, but personally I loved it.
If you appreciate the cruelty and unforgiving nature of GoT, I highly recommend the Night Angel trilogy by Brent Weeks. He’s not afraid to put the characters through all sorts of mental and physical abuse. Admittedly, the ending almost ruins it (no spoilers, promise), as if he had more chapters planned but had to cut them out so slapped the last one together as a sort of screw you to the editors. I emphasise ~almost~ though. This is one of the probably the only times I’d ever say that a series is worth the read ~despite~ the bad ending. It’s gritty, it’s painful, it makes you fall in love with some characters just to kill them off… or worse. If it wasn’t for this series, I’d probably have given up on GoT by the first book. After the roller coaster of Night Angel though, it didn’t take much to carry on to the next GoT book.
Last but far from least, my absolute favorite author (never in my life did I ever think I would be able to say that…), Patrick ‘Awesome’ Rothfuss. One reviewer pointed out that ‘Not a single word is wasted,’ and they’re so beyond right. After Codex Alera, I hit a bit of a dry spell. The wonderful awesome people at Barnes and Noble recommended GoT and Patrick ‘Best Damn Writer Ever’ Rothfuss to us, and we gave them a shot. I can’t even begin to give a breakdown of the books here, but there are plenty of reviews that you can find online. All I can say is if you’re not reading it, and you enjoy fantasy in any form, you’re missing out.
Also, for those who don’t know, he’s running a bit of a fundraiser at the moment. More information can be found on his blog (just google Patrick Rothfuss blog), but one of the things included on his fundraiser now is a signed first edition of the third book in his series, including a holographic sticker that’ll either read “Patrick Rothfuss thinks I’m awesome” or “Geeks doing good”. Also, if you ever get the chance to attend one of his book signings or talks, do it. Just do it. He’s hilarious to listen to, and if you’re lucky, he might even sing XD
I’m an amateur writer with a handful of poems published through the old poetry.com site, and now with a short cyberpunk story being published. I’m going to come right out and say, yes, I’m a fur ducks the torches and dodges the pitchforks No, I’m not a costumer. No, I don’t attend furmeets. No, I haven’t gone to a whole lot of conventions. No, there are no late night furry orgies. I enjoy the art and I enjoy writing. Saying this, I’d like to say that I’m getting my very first story published for Rainfurrest this year. The books themselves are sold as a non-for-profit to help save the snow leopards. It’s a great cause and one I’m proud to stand for. My story, titled Tech Flesh, can be found in the grown-ups’ book. No, my story isn’t rated X. It’s just that there’s blood and some violence involved.
I normally just write stories that are 2500-3500 words long, and this one is 8000+. I also have never written Cyberpunk before. The closest I’ve come to reading/watching it was Transformers and some vague memories of Blade Runner. So this is a really big deal for me. It’s also been an interesting journey into the process of writing, which I’ve come to conclude is very sado-masochistic x.x But I really hope it’ll lead to more in the future.
I’m also going to be talking on a couple of boards, which is a huge honor for me. So if there are any furs in hiding or not so much in hiding out there (I’m looking at you Tobias xp), please feel free to come on over and visit.
Also, if you have any questions about the furry community in general (are the orgies like in that one CSI episode a common thing?), then feel free to poke at me. I love dispelling stereotypes.
I just finished reading Confess, Fletch by Gregory Mcdonald, the second book he wrote in the Fletch series. This introduces the character of inspector Francis Xavier Flynn, who got his own series of mysteries following this book. Flynn is as engagingly witty with his words as Fletch is, and is likely even smarter than Fletch. The dialog between the two of them is fantastically engaging and makes me like this book better than the original Fletch.
One thing to keep in mind if you’re a fan of the movie version of I.M. Fletcher as portrayed by Chevy Chase is that we’re not Chevy Chase and neither is the Irwin Maurice Fletcher of the books. Once you can separate the books from Chevy Chase you’re good and they’re good.
I love wit in books. I might have to check this out, especially since I’ve never seen the movies XD
Anyone ever read Other Systems by Elizabeth Guizzetti? There are autographed copies at the local Barnes and Noble and I was wondering if it was worth checking out. It looks like it has heavy sci-fi elements, which isn’t my cup of tea, but if the plot and characters are engaging enough then I’d still grab it.
I really want this thread to stay alive, so update!
I cracked open Fevre Dream this morning and managed to get three chapters into it before I had to clock in (bus transfers, food grabbage, all that fun stuff).
First I should warn that I went through a whole vampire period a la Anne Rice. Read almost the whole series up through Blood and Gold, and picked up various random vampire movies and books along the way. I’ve written in a vampiric universe - one of my first real rp’s were simple hand-written notes of two vampire characters my hs sweetie and I passed along back and forth between classes. I played a few games of V:tM and rp’ed online. I even got into Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark Hunter series for a long stretch of time until her redundancy wore on me. As I do with most addictions, I completely immersed myself, learning of the old lore and many of the stereotypes and the modern day twists. By the time word first reached me about sparkly vegetarian vampires, I was already kind of sick of them, and that was the icing on the cake I needed to give up on them indefinitely. So needless to say, I’m painfully familiar with many of the stereotypes and cliches and all the points that most writers feel the need to touch upon, be it in book, film, or other.
To say I was hesitant to pick up this book is an understatement. Yet this is GRRM, author of enough Twilight Zone episodes to turn heads - a show that was well-known for plot twists and new ways of looking at tired cliches. I needed a break from the painful world of GoT, and I needed to know if I was simply pursuing a plot to its end, or if I was still enjoying the actual skill of his writing. This was my chance.
That being said, it’s refreshing to take in GRRM’s writing without all the twisty turney plots of GoT. As always, the voices of the characters ring clear and unique thus far. Some of what seems like should be a subtle build up in the early chapters feels far too predictable. Thankfully though, he has a knack for drawing focus where he wishes the reader to go. It becomes clear rather quickly that either he himself or someone he knows has a love and a certain excitement when it comes to steamboats, and while his descriptions of them can be somewhat long, it doesn’t feel boring. It’s rather easy to get caught up in the character’s excitement and pride. He also has a fine way of balancing and timing his descriptions, once more guiding the reader to where he wants you to focus on.
As far as first impressions go, I’m hooked. I was going to put the book down after finishing the second chapter, but I found myself curious about what would happen to the main character. As long as those predictable moments of suspense are kept to a minimum, I think this might be the first vampire book I will finish since I had last had my fill years ago.
Please note: I know that three chapters doesn’t sound like much, but when it’s a book I’m reading for pleasure and I know the author is talented in detail vs action, I like to take my time and soak in what’s said, and sometimes find myself re-reading certain details when my mind starts to stray >.<
Lev Grossman- The Magician King [sequel to The Magicians; the third book will be released in August]. The common description is “Harry Potter mashed up with Narnia.” That’s fair, but it is a whole lot more. It’s a fantasy, but it is rooted in a semblance of reality, one that has characters that are aware of the extant literature. It’s not for kiddies, but neither is it too gratuitous with anything.
Is it modern day? And is it as descriptive as Narnia? Is it rooted in a semblance of reality the same way HP was, or to a larger, more significant extent?
You have my curiosity piqued now XD