Beyond Reality discussion

Please let us know what your are reading, or plan to read, in August. All genres are welcome here, not only SF/F/H.

Yesterday I finished a pretty awesome collection of interconnected short stories: Transactions by Iranian-Australian author Ali Alizadeh. Refugees, revenge, ambition, assassination. Very cool.
I'm also reading No One Is Coming to Save Us by Stephanie Powell Watts for another GoodReads bookclub, and The Mammoth Book of SF Stories by Women.

I'm halfway through Witchfinder on my Kindle. It's been pretty good so far. My current physical book is To Green Angel Tower, Part 2. Also good so far :)

I am now reading The Demolished Man and Astrophysics for People in a Hurry.

Next is Mentats of Dune

I haven't decided what else to read before starting Abaddon's Gate

I am reading Homeland by R.A. Salvatore for another Goodreads group. Also up this month are Abaddon's Gate, Wit'ch Gate, Arms-Commander, and who knows what else?

The Killing Moon for our GR
The Empty Grave
Guns of the Dawn for another GR
and if I have time:
Revelation Space
The Shadowed Sun

Footfall is my current read but I'm not really enjoying it. I may pick up Arcanum Unbounded just to speed myself back up this month after a reading slump. Hoping to male some progress with On War, too, but I doubt I'll finish it this month.

Finishing up another Cat Who book, which are keeping me distracted from starting Abaddon's Gate too soon.

Also started The Collapsing Empire last night for this month's SF read.

Finally rereading Janny Wurts' Initiate's Trial. Anxiously waiting for the next WoL&S, coming this fall.

Charles wrote: "Finally rereading Janny Wurts' Initiate's Trial. Anxiously waiting for the next WoL&S, coming this fall."
I read much of that series as a group read, and decided not to go any further until the series is finished, knowing I will probably need to reread the earlier books before diving into the ones that have been published since the end of the group read. That reread will NOT be a chore, that's for sure!

Reading time is sparse at the start of a new school year, and I am teaching a new curriculum this year so it's not leaving me much free time/brainpower at the moment. Right now I'm reading a memoir Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman that I'm quite enjoying, even if I only get a chance to read little bits of it at a time. Abaddon's Gate will likely be up next!

Shel wrote: " Abaddon's Gate will likely be up next! "

Yep. Same here. Although I'll also be reading Astrophysics for People In A Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson when I need a break.

I am in the middle of The Children of Men by P.D. James, an author I have never read. A surprising apocalyptic story where an infertility crisis has occurred since the sperm count has plummeted to zero. What I especially like is that the crisis is over when the novel begins (the last human born dies at 25) in that no one can fix the problem and the novel focuses instead on what humans do when there is no hope left. As a whole, we are not very admirable. But then, that might change.

As soon as I finish this one, I will start this month's SF, The Collapsing Empire.

I finished John Scalzi's End of All Things
Pretty good, four Novellas tied togather for a larger story
End of the Old Man's War series but leaves it open for more stories

Finally decided to finish Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right
which I couldn't finish last November for reasons...ha
It's a remarkable book that makes what is happening today not a strange occurrence but something that has been in the works for the last two decades

Enjoying All Our Wrong Todays. While the title may sound a bit like a soap opera, the book is a sci-fi/alternate reality combo, with a little time travel thrown in, to get one to an alternate reality. If you start it, be patient through the character development in the first 20% of the book -- it is necessary to help one to understand the dilemma of our not-too-bright time and reality-hopping protagonist. I'm expecting I'm going to like him a lot more as I read, and perhaps not at all by the time I finish.

I finished Scalzi's The collapsing Empire and am currently revisiting Cats Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. mostly because I just love his books and also have The House at the Edge of the World by Julia Rochester and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer waiting in the wings.

As usual, I have a million books underway.

I just finished listening to the Unreal and the Real, Vol. 1 "Here on Earth" by Ursula K. LeGuin. Amazing.

Now listening to Brother in Arms, by Lois McMaster Bujold; and The Return of the Jedi, audio drama with my son.

Reading Letters to an Android, by Wendy Rathbone; and several other books which aren't on topic.

Finshed Dark Money last night
Very creepy book. It pretty much outlines how we, I mean Americans as I am not, got to where the Government of the day is quite dysfunctional.

Started on Red Sparrow

I have a bunch of things on the go at the moment:

Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo
Leia, Princess of Alderaan by Claudia Gray - I'm doing the audio of this with my kids when we are in the car and it is excellent!
Eon: Dragoneye Reborn by Alison Goodman
Cosmic Powers: The Saga Anthology of Far-Away Galaxies edited by John Joseph Adams

And still working my way through The Big Book of Science Fiction...but that will be for a long time yet.

I wanted to give myself a good head start on Abaddon's Gate since it's so long and I want to be ready to discuss on Oct. 1....yeah, I can't put it down, more than halfway through already. :)

Justine, I really enjoyed Eon: Dragoneye Reborn! I keep meaning to pick up the sequel but haven't gotten to it yet.

Shel, I'm really enjoying so far! So much more so than the last girl passing as a boy story I read this year, Flame in the Mist, which was honestly such a let down :(

I just finished Starship Troopers and started Rendezvous with Rama

I finished Arms-Commander, a novel in the Recluce Saga by L.E. Modesitt Jr.. I found this to be one of the strongest entries, with characters who were less whiny, self-pitying, and wishy-washy. It turned out to be a strong commentary on gender roles and sexism as well. This series is not written in internal chronological order and this book takes place about 10 years after the "Angels" landed on the Roof of the World and established Westwind. Abaddon's Gate is next!

I read The Demolished Man and Astrophysics for People in a Hurry early in the month. Then it took me almost 3 weeks to read Mentats of Dune.

Mentats of Dune was long and tedious, but still well worth reading. It is full of lots of little details, which all contribute to the story, but make for slow reading. The book is also somewhat depressing. The crazy and incompetent people have the most influence (much like the real world today).

I ended up with 5 days left in the month and ready to start a new book. I was about to start Abaddon's Gate, but then I started Simply Complexity: A Clear Guide to Complexity Theory instead.

Finished Abaddon's Gate--Loved it.
Now reading Exile for another Goodreads group discussion.

well I tossed Red Sparrow, too much of nothing going on and the writer was too big on his losing tails bit. Book was just not that good. I tried to continue reading but I just couldn't

Started The Last Dancer
I read it back in the 90s and enjoyed it then. At the time I didn't realize it was the third book in a series. There was some stuff from the previous books but written in such a way that you didnt have to read the previous books. I have since tracked down the previous books. His evolution as a writer is noticeable. The first book was ok, second book was better and this one is even better.

I think we need an October thread...

After Exile, I read The Guardians. Even though I didn’t rate it very high (3/5), I have found myself thinking about it since finishing it, usually the sign of a good book, for me. I don’t know if I’m still puzzling over the unanswered questions that contributed to the lower rating, or if the book really had the power to affect me, which should have led to a higher rating.

I’m now ready to start Wit'ch Star, the conclusion of The Banned & The Banished series.