The Sword and Laser discussion

New month!

I'm reading Geist in paper and Sixty-One Nails: Courts of the Feyre, Book 1 on the Kindle App.

Starting the month off with On Stranger Tides, then some group reads. Hopefully I'll be able to get to Armor and Foucault's Pendulum.

Journey without Maps.

I completed NaNoWriMo successfully! Which means: 1) my hands hurt and 2) I can go back to my regular reading schedule.

I should finish up The Half-Made World today, and then I plan to start on The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack.

After that, it'll depend on mood, but I have 14 books in my Unread Kindle collection, such as: The Girl Who Played with Fire, The Gone-Away World, The Warded Man, etc. I want to read The Broken Kingdoms, but the publishers have decided to block the Kindle edition in Canada so :P to them.

Nothing on the lists of books releasing in December has caught my interest at first glance, so I hope to put a dent in that backlog. :)

Amy wrote: "I completed NaNoWriMo successfully! Which means: 1) my hands hurt and 2) I can go back to my regular reading schedule..."
Good job!

I'm currently plow through the latest Raymond E. Feist, At the Gates of Darkness but should be done with it within the week.
Next on the list is one of the following; Ship of Magic, The Word for World is Forest, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo or Udda verklighet by the local author Nene Ormes - which ever arrives first in the mail (still using analog books).
My December contains quite a bit of travelling and being off-grid, so there should be time to finish a few of these.

Isn't there another version of this thread?

There's one for November, but can't see one for December.
You're however welcome to correct me if I've missed it.

Martin wrote: "There's one for November, but can't see one for December.
You're however welcome to correct me if I've missed it."

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/4...

You're right.

@Tom & Veronica: Can you as moderators merge two topics?

In fairness, the other one somehow got buried. Usually if there's recent activity it comes to the top, but this time, it was fairly far down the list. Not sure why.

Ack. I wouldn't have started this one if I'd seen the other.

Also, congratulations Amy!

I'm currently reading Stephen King's Pet Sematary (which is not available in the US for the Kindle, which is frustrating). I'm also reading through the comic book The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1 (which collects the first 48 issues).

Still working through The Black Lizard Big Book of Black Mask Storiesand taking on The Color of Magic to get into Discworld.

The last couple weeks I haven't been able to get into any book that I have tried to start. I did read a few graphic novels however -- Invincible: The Ultimate Collection Volume 4, Invincible Ultimate Collection Volume 5, Superman: Earth One. I just started Altered Carbon and am hoping it grabs me and gets me out of this rut I've been in.

James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon, pretty fascinating bio on this double-identity (actually triple, she wrote as 'Racoona Sheldon' as well as the male Tiptree) science fiction author.

Well I posted in the other thread, but seeing how it's buried, I'll post the same thing here. :)

I finished our book o' the month (and didn't particularly like it: my review)....at least it was short.

I started listening to Mistborn: The Final Empire on my iPod while at the gym. I'm really digging it so far. I'm looking forward to long drives and gym days. :D

On my Kindle, I'm reading some super-light reading, Stupid History: Tales of Stupidity, Strangeness, and Mythconceptions Throughout the Ages. I needed a break from all the serious stuff. Probably read Stupid American History: Tales of Stupidity, Strangeness, and Mythconceptions, then, depending on what the S&L book is and how I feel after my surgery early next year, we'll see what comes next...

I finished Blackout by Connie Willis on November 30, so December starts with All Clear. The two books were supposed to be one, but were too long for one volume. My carry-overs from November are Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko and Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson. I'm still listening to The Prestige by Christopher Priest. I haven't had any iPod time this week.

Some offbeat graphic novels. 'Spiderman Fever' is in the style of Steve Ditko's Spiderman & Dr Strange, but with digital coloring.

Hulk Deadpool, or Hulkpool, in 'Hulked-Out Heroes', is hilarious. It's a time travel story as well, with pirates, including 'Blackbeard Thing'.

My TBR stack is huge... I have several books waiting for me to read and review, as well a few that I want to read for my own enjoyment... too many books, too little time!

That's a good problem to have!

I am still working on "perdido street station", Its enthralling. 100 pages to go.

the bookstore just called though, to let me know that how to live safely is in... off i go!

I'm just getting into the meat of Swan Song. A lot more weirdness than I expected but I'm digging it so far. Also listening to John Scalzi's Agent to the Stars and it's a hoot. I'm laughing out loud more than I should be. My fellow commuters must think I've got a few screws loose.

I just saw that Agent to the Stars is available in audio now. I read the book shortly after it cam out. Otherwise, I'd get the audiobook. Wil Wheaton is the narrator, so it should be good.

Sandi wrote: "I just saw that Agent to the Stars is available in audio now. I read the book shortly after it cam out. Otherwise, I'd get the audiobook. Wil Wheaton is the narrator, so it should b..."

When I first started listening to the book I was concerned. Wheaton can come across a little too arrogant and over the top in his reading. And it started that way for the first couple of minutes but once he settles in he delivers a great reading (at least the first half of the book so far).

Just finished Ender's Game. Took me two days. About 1/2 way through First and Only (Warhammer 40,000) which I got free for my Kindle off of the Black Library homepage. Check it out if you are using an ebook reader and you like the Warhammer universe.

I've just started reading How I Escaped My Certain Fate by my cousin, Stewart Lee. I bought the paperback as soon as it came out but was waiting for the Kindle edition to actually read it.

I am so hooked on Songs of Ice and Fire series right now. Finished A Clash of Kings, Kindle version, the other night and jumped right into A Storm of Swords. If this gets any worse I am going to need an intervention. Do love these books though. My pile of books is building as my daughter is sending me galley proofs to read now too. Nothing of major interest, but having never seen a pre-published book before, they are kind of fun.

I'm finally getting around to The Name of the Wind and it's killer, as everyone told me it would be.

I've been thoroughly enjoying GW Bush's memoir, Decision Points, and will wrap it up today. Then I'll be starting up The Girl Who Played with Fire.

I just finished All Clear by Connie Willis. She's my favorite author, so I can't say anything bad. I have also listened to Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm and The Prestige by Christopher Priest. I wouldn't recommend either of them.

I'm almost done reading Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko. I think my next listen will be The Broken Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin.

American on Purpose

Sandi wrote: "I just finished All Clear by Connie Willis. She's my favorite author, so I can't say anything bad."

Which book would you recommend for someone reading Connie Willis for the first time? Her books sound interesting.

Having fun with the Locke & Key graphic novels. Of course stores don't stock the first volume. Doesn't seem very economical.

I'm currently reading King's Dragon by Kate Elliott, which is the first book in her Crown of Stars series. I originally began reading this series as it was being written, however, while waiting for the last two books to be released I got bogged down reading other stuff and kind of forgot it existeed. Anyway, years later I've returned to the series and now remember why I love it so much.

Philip wrote: "Which book would you recommend for someone reading Connie Willis for the first time? Her books sound interesting."

For a guy, I'd recommend Lincoln's Dreams or her short story collection, The Winds of Marble Arch. Willis really excels at the short story format and The Winds of Marble Arch covers just about everything she can do.

Cool Sandi, thanks!

So far on my holiday, I've read White Noise, Diary of a Bad Year, and Zero History (to which I would say, all that for pants?!?). I'm still waiting for the Yu to come available at the library, and not very patiently.

Jenny wrote: "So far on my holiday, I've read White Noise, Diary of a Bad Year, and Zero History (to which I would say, all that for pants?!?). I'm still waiting for th..."

So Zero History was pants?

Total pants. ;)

After finishing a book a week ago I saw that China Miéville has a Christmas short story out called Tis the Season, so I downloaded that. Then went back to Kraken as by China. I also have Notes From a Big Country by Bill Bryson on the go as well

I just finished Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin, which was fascinating, and now I'm working through The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest.

Currently rereading the entire Harry Potter series. Currently on The Goblet of Fire. I have to say, it isn't nearly as good of a book as I remember it being 5 years ago.

After I finish this series it is back to Song of Fire and Ice.

Finished up a quickie, Stupid American History: Tales of Stupidity, Strangeness, and Mythconceptions and a more traditional book, Mistborn: The Final Empire.

Currently reading The Well of Ascension, about a quarter way through it. I'm really enjoying the Mistborn series, would recommend it to any fantasy-lovers.

Escape Pod 271 was fun and well acted:

http://escapepod.org/2010/12/16/ep271...

'The God of the Lower Level'

I finally read How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe today, and thought it was really cute.

I had read several reviews of The Waters Rising by Sheri S. Tepper, but they said it was the sequel to a previous book. Luckily I asked the right librarian at the public library, since the cover doesn't indicate what book it follows, and the previous book, A Plague of Angels, is from 1993! They had it, so I'll start there. It looks like it has dragons, ogres, and goblins, which is not my usual thing, but I liked some of what Tepper wrote in the past. We'll see!

Just finished listening to Throne of Jade. Cannot wait to start the next one!

In the middle of Game of Thrones. I never read it before but often hear people talk about it and since they are making a series out of it I decided to finally give it a tumble.

Tamahome wrote: "Escape Pod 271 was fun and well acted:

http://escapepod.org/2010/12/16/ep271...

'The God of the Lower Level'"

That was good, as was Transmissions from Beyond 33:

http://transmissionsfrombeyond.com/20...

"The Chance Walker" by Lynda Rucker. It felt... right.

I'm having a really hard time getting through The God Engines by John Scalzi. You would think one could blast through a 136 page novella by one of one's favorite authors in a day or two, but I'm finding this to be excruciatingly awful.

For Christmas, my family got me a 50th anniversary hardback edition of To Kill a Mockingbird in a cloth slipcase. They also got me Scout, Atticus, and Boo: A Celebration of Fifty Years of To Kill a Mockingbird which I am reading now. To Kill a Mockingbird is my all-time favorite book and Scout, Atticus, and Boo is the perfect companion book.

I was also very surprised to find a copy of How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe under my tree. I never mentioned wanting to read it, but my daughter said that it looked like it was perfect for me.

I've been having a bit of insomnia so I'm reading a lot right now. I'm on the last book of the Void Trillogy. Really good follow-up to the origional duology. The Evolutionary Void.

I might read some less weighty stuff next. Anyone read Burton and Swinburne in the Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack?

Just finished listening to Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. Good story, sucks that it's a 2yr wait for the next one.