Flights of Fantasy discussion

Here we are. Another month already.

I'm almost finished with my audiobook of Hit Man - really enjoying it.

And last night I started one of our August group reads, somewhat at random: The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart

Wow. Uhh? Wow.

That's a good wow or a bad wow?

Good!

No, bad.

No wait. Good. Definitely Good.

I think.

lol!

I just read a review which said

It should be made very clear that if you are offended by anything, at all, ever, you should probably give The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart a wide berth (and avoid eye contact) as you pass it in a dimly lit bookstore aisle. That said, under the detailed cover is a dark and darkly humorous story with a high body count and complete lack of tact. Amusing? Immensely. Imaginative? Absolutely so. Fun for the whole family? Not on your life.

Yeah, I saw that one. It encouraged me to keep going. LOL

I think I need to read this book.

I just read that Edgar Wright has signed to adapt Grasshopper Jungle and am so excited to both read and see it! I've loved his movies from Scott Pilgrim to Shaun of the Dead to Hot Fuzz to The End Of The World!

Giddy!

I'm working on two romance anthologies and a fantasy dragon anthology.

I started off the month with The Picture of Dorian Gray - which I enjoyed for its wonderful language, but found the story to be lacking, though an interesting idea. Then I read The End of Your Life Book Club, a memoir of a son and a mother dealing with cancer and bonding through the books they read together. It was a sweet and touching memorial by the author to his beloved mother. Now I'm reading Starship Troopers. I didn't think I would like it because I hated Stranger in a Strange Land by the same author. But I'm really liking it. Reminds me more than a little of Enders Game actually. Though, better.

I really enjoyed Starship Troopers.

I like the military aspects of it, it takes this so much farther than Enders Game did, but I don't care for the political babble.

Better than the movie though. ;)

So while I was travelling, I started a different book on each flight. LOL

On the flight out to Dallas, I started listening to The Picture of Dorian Gray, and then on the way back I started reading Overrun by Brian Clopper, which I've had on my kindle app for just about ever. It's... different. LOL

Meanwhile I've still got my forever-reading books going: Blindsight (over 60% now! The end is in sight! :D) and The Souls of Black Folk which I'll likely still be reading this time next year at the rate I'm going.

Going to start California Bones. I keep seeing this book everywhere! Maybe because I live in California.

Chris wrote: "Good!

No, bad.

No wait. Good. Definitely Good.

I think."

My thoughts exactly!! I am enjoying myself reading it at least!

So yes, I am also reading The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart. I am also going to read The Minority Report as soon as my copy of the book arrives.

Nienna wrote: "I like the military aspects of it, it takes this so much farther than Enders Game did, but I don't care for the political babble.

Better than the movie though. ;)"

You know, I think that some of the political stuff I enjoyed the most. Not the politics itself but the way he did it - I didn't feel preached to and I appreciate that.

SO, still reading the dragon anthology and two romance anthologies.

One of the romance anthologies hit a brick wall this weekend: the "hero" of the book went to the "heroine's" best friend to beg for help to get a date with the heroine. So the heroine's best friend decides to let the guy into the heroine's house without her knowledge and leave him there alone so they can talk.

WOW.

I violently object to this action. Violently. I can't get into the book (I'm at the beginning) because I see red every time I think of it.

TOSS IT!

I started Ruby Red, Royal Assassin and Emperor Mage. I'm 1/3rd through with The Sparrow I really like it so far.

Laurel wrote: "TOSS IT!"

Yeah, this one is a DNF.

I finished Ruin and Rising the other day, and it was a crap ending to previously decent trilogy.


Then I started The Prince of Lies, the final book in the Night's Masque trilogy (which we started with The Alchemist of Souls - and I'm hoping it was better than the lackluster (and kind of annoying) middle installment.

I just read Feet of Clay--which was fun! A friend of mine has been talking about Terry Pratchett, so I wanted to read some as well. Recently plowed through The Forever War--it was okay, but I did not like it as well as I'd hoped.

I am currently reading Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands. It's not bad so far.

colleen the contrarian ± (... never stop fighting) ± wrote: "I finished Ruin and Rising the other day, and it was a crap ending to previously decent trilogy.


Then I started The Prince of Lies, the final book in the Night's M..."

I hate when that happens. I haven't read it yet. But I loved the first one. I didn't care for the 2nd and was hoping the 3rd would be better. That happened to me with Daughter of Smoke & Bone. It didn't even seem like the same author by the 3rd book.

Hi all, it's been a while :) *waves*

Been a bit slow on my reading recently (life not being helpful unfortunately). Finally managed to get up to date on the Aspect Emperor series with The White Luck Warrior. Another solid entry in the series, can't wait for the final instalment now.

Now I'm reading The Violent Century and loving it so far! (feels like a cross between Vicious, Bitter Seeds and Watchmen).

Hey Paul!

Paul!

I hope all is when. I've been watching for you. Not in a stalkery way, I promise :)

Sending you good thoughts.

Have you ever read a book that seemed quite simple, yet you find yourself thinking of it days later? It's Smile , which one the Eisner for (I think) children's graphic novel. I read it in one sitting, loved it, then put it aside as a pleasant experience. Only I'm still thinking about the lead character's journey. How she dealt with sadness, adversity, bullying, making friends. I was touched by the odd insight into the mother's experience as well. The sister, the friends. It was a simple story which could appeal to a child of ten, yet at 38 I found as much meaning in it as any 500+ page book I've read.

Anyway, if you see it at your library, and think about picking it up, I believe you'll find it a quite enjoyable read.

Laurel wrote: "Paul!

I hope all is when. I've been watching for you. Not in a stalkery way, I promise :)

Sending you good thoughts."

Thanks guys! I think I should be properly back now so looking forward to chatting about books with you all :)

Great to see you Paul.

California Bones was better than expected. I really enjoyed it. Partly because I am Californian and I know the locale. A book that mentions the Brea Tar Pits? Awesome. :)

Now I'm reading Dauntless. I'm in the mood for some space opera goodness.

I'm about halfway through Kaleidoscope: Diverse YA Science Fiction and Fantasy Stories and I'm really enjoying the selection of stories.

Still in Malazan. Up to book 9, though I still have all the side books to do.

I liked California Bones as well. Osteomancy was something new and worth exploring. Though the writing and plot seemed a bit meh overall.

Ala wrote: "Still in Malazan. Up to book 9, though I still have all the side books to do.

I liked California Bones as well. Osteomancy was something new and worth exploring. Though the writing and plot seeme..."

I;m so nervous about moving on to book 2... O_O

Yeah. By the time I'm ready to read the 2nd Malazan I'll be ready to read the 1st again... now you see why I can't finish series. I'm the same way with TV shows.

Reading Horns. It feels like a book that I should be really enjoying but I'm not picking it up as much as I would if I was really into it. Not sure why though, there's nothing about the story or the writing that I can put my finger on as being the problem. I do think the story could move a little faster. It's not bad but I thought I'd be getting through it faster.

Starting my buddy read of Grave Peril on Monday though. Need me some Dresden!

Still digging the Alex Verus series! On Chosen right now.


It is NOT Dresden, but if you like Dresden, you may really dig this series as well. There's a mage. He's a diviner. (I never thought about all the fun stuff you could do with seeing possible futures...) He owns a shop, has interesting friends, solves mysteries, and get's into fights with the "bad guys".

In my mind, that truly is where I stop comparing. When I get into the stories, I never think "Oh! This reminds me of Dresden a bit here and..." etc.

Though, also like the Dresden series, the audio is very good! =)

I've heard good things about the Alex Verus books. I'll have to give them a try. I did try the Iron Druid books a while ago and didn't get on with them at all. Alex Verus might be what I need to keep me going until the next Dresden book.

Went to the library today. Picked up a few books. Mostly science fiction. Found a copy of The Minority Report that I was excited to find. Specially cause it's a group read. Uh... It is a group read... Right?

It's short and I'm digging it. I need to read more from the author. I've already read and liked Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?.

I just finished Through the Woods. I loved it. Deliciously creepy stories and beautiful art.

Nienna wrote: "Went to the library today. Picked up a few books. Mostly science fiction. Found a copy of The Minority Report that I was excited to find. Specially cause it's a group read. Uh... It i..."

Yes, it is. And it's been lonely for me over there ;)

Focusing on short books because I was getting so behind on my GR year goal, but these are series being read anyway. I've read the 1st 3 of the Cat Who books by Lilian Braun. Excellent. I've continued my reading of the 87th Precinct novels by Ed McBain. I also finished another book in the Vorkosigan saga - Warrior's Apprentice. Next week, back to Diskworld with the Wyrd Sisters. I already have 2 of the books for this month's group read, so I'll be able to start one of those this week as well.

Just got my copy of Minority Report. Maybe I can knock it out today if I get a min...

I liked Minority Report a lot. And it's a short read.

I'm reading The Confabulist, a fictional historical book about the life and death of Harry Houdini. I'm very interested in classic magician acts, and illusions. It's a pretty good book. But can be confusing. It bounces back and forth too much, and the timeline is very unclear. I like the writing though.

Nienna wrote: "I'm reading The Confabulist, a fictional historical book about the life and death of Harry Houdini. I'm very interested in cl..."


Last week, I read The Cellist of Sarajevo for book club and Steve Galloway skyped into our meeting. He had plugged The Confabulist. It didn't look interesting to me though.

Regarding the timeline though, I think that maybe that's his "thing" because I noticed the same thing in Cellist. The Cellist follows 4 characters and the timeline is unclear as the story goes from character to character. It's not until you read Galloway's afterward that you realize how much time has passed by. I still liked the story though.

I caught an episode of Extreme Collectors last weekend where this guy had a Houdini collection. It was pretty amazing all the things he'd managed to accumulate. He had it set up like a museum in his house.

I finally finished The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart! I have never been happier ;)

I think I'm going to start The Minority Report now or perhaps one of Louis Couperus's books that is still on my to-read list.

Elise wrote: "I finally finished The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart! I have never been happier ;)"

Do you say this because you're glad to be done? Was it not good?

Yes I am happy to be done. It is not that the book was not good, but it wasn't great either. Somehow I just couldn't really get into it. Perhaps it is because the main characters just did not seem German to me, or perhaps because the style in which the book is written just did not appeal to me. Or maybe the fact that some chapters were very very long and boring and others just had so much happening that I wondered where all the action suddenly came from. It just was not a smooth read for me!
However, the story in itself I enjoyed. I like historical stories. I like it when they contain religion (because I have studied religion) even though it sometimes slowed down the story even more.
But in total it was quite a challenge to finish it!

I see...

Yes, I agreed with most of what you said there Elise. Though I chucked it at halfway.

Finally finished Malazan last night.. Not sure what I think about it. Probably going to just skip the ICE Malazan novels.

Also read A Snake in the Grass today.

May do Outlander next, unless something else comes up.