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What are you reading in August 2012?
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Candiss
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Aug 01, 2012 09:34AM
![Candiss (tantara) | 1207 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1325299894p1/2867198.jpg)
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![Candiss (tantara) | 1207 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1325299894p1/2867198.jpg)
That looks interesting, Stuart. I hadn't heard of it!
I'll be finishing Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke. I will also be re-reading Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente for our discussion here.
Other than that, I'll be working my way through these in no particular order:
![City by Clifford D. Simak](https://s3.amazonaws.com/photo.goodreads.com/books/1328015139s/10812222.jpg)
![The Invention Of Morel & Other Stories by Adolfo Bioy Casares](https://s3.amazonaws.com/photo.goodreads.com/books/1219025223s/4253916.jpg)
![The House on the Strand by Daphne du Maurier](https://s3.amazonaws.com/photo.goodreads.com/books/1314442671s/50246.jpg)
![Death Comes As the End by Agatha Christie](https://s3.amazonaws.com/photo.goodreads.com/books/1312058309s/121645.jpg)
![A Cat, a Man, and Two Women by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki](https://s3.amazonaws.com/photo.goodreads.com/books/1328029685s/34468.jpg)
![Gourmet Rhapsody by Muriel Barbery](https://s3.amazonaws.com/photo.goodreads.com/books/1255572690s/6366085.jpg)
![Railsea by China Miéville](https://s3.amazonaws.com/photo.goodreads.com/books/1321409808s/12392681.jpg)
Railsea will probably be last up, as I'm in queue at the library. Two of the others - The Invention of Morel and The House on the Strand - are science fiction but are usually thought of as regular lit-fic, because the author is not known as a sf author (du Maurier, despite her many horror/speculative stories that inspired Hitchcock films) or is a Latin American magical realist author (aka fantasist that many people don't recognize as a fantasist. The title novella in this collection is one of the books that was featured on Lost - a weakness of mine - and it's an odd one, I hear.)
![Pickle | 203 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1406745263p1/5201478.jpg)
![Extro by Alfred Bester](https://s3.amazonaws.com/photo.goodreads.com/books/1307655062s/2987564.jpg)
![The Dying Earth by Jack Vance](https://s3.amazonaws.com/photo.goodreads.com/books/1263597917s/7577214.jpg)
![The Dancer from Atlantis by Poul Anderson](https://s3.amazonaws.com/photo.goodreads.com/books/1233026956s/1741222.jpg)
![Three Hearts And Three Lions by Poul Anderson](https://s3.amazonaws.com/photo.goodreads.com/books/1270705951s/2880537.jpg)
![To Green Angel Tower, Part 2 (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, #3; Part 2) by Tad Williams](https://s3.amazonaws.com/photo.goodreads.com/books/1309992900s/28698.jpg)
![The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett](https://s3.amazonaws.com/photo.goodreads.com/books/1256947968s/947956.jpg)
![Christine | 632 comments](https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/f_25x33-d79c46f9428d2aea1444d67c091766a6.png)
![Candiss (tantara) | 1207 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1325299894p1/2867198.jpg)
I'm in queue at the library for The Killing Moon and can't wait for my turn to come up. Daughter of Smoke and Bone has been on my radar since it was released, but I tend to balk at anything labeled Young Adult and/or Paranormal Romance, so I've been resisting my curiosity. I've read that it isn't formulaic or schmaltzy or immature, which keeps me considering it. What did you like about it, and do you think it has broader fantasy appeal than only for YA/PA enthusiasts?
![Christine | 632 comments](https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/f_25x33-d79c46f9428d2aea1444d67c091766a6.png)
![Candiss (tantara) | 1207 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1325299894p1/2867198.jpg)
![Christine | 632 comments](https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/f_25x33-d79c46f9428d2aea1444d67c091766a6.png)
![Snail in Danger (Sid) Nicolaides (upsight) | 187 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1304526668p1/125150.jpg)
![Candiss (tantara) | 1207 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1325299894p1/2867198.jpg)
Awesome, Sid! That's the Hachette audio version of the book that won the Audie Award. I'll definitely be grabbing this while it's available.
![Christine | 632 comments](https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/f_25x33-d79c46f9428d2aea1444d67c091766a6.png)
![Random (rand0m1s) | 1064 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1239696335p1/1857936.jpg)
![Candiss (tantara) | 1207 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1325299894p1/2867198.jpg)
I hear you, Random. I'm reading through molasses, as well. Are you enjoying The Windup Girl, at least? Then you can call it "savoring," as opposed to "slow going." ;)
![Helen](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1342121072p1/314287.jpg)
Only in the USA though. I've been thinking of reading this too. I'm currently reading The Great Hunt. I'm still three behind in that read so might carry on with them.
![Christine | 632 comments](https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/f_25x33-d79c46f9428d2aea1444d67c091766a6.png)
![Lindsey | 414 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1267223483p1/3349617.jpg)
Going to be a bit before I read the follow up to Queen's Command... didn't realize that it's a zombie novel of sorts and it's not as complex or deep as I had hoped. And maybe, just maybe, I'll get around to finishing Ship of Destiny and The Art of War. Maybe.
Just got back from a 2-week vacation where I had more time to read than I've had in a looooong time!
I read:
the whole Hunger Games trilogy
Yes, Chef: A Memoir by Marcus Samuelsson
The Man Who Knew Too Much by G.K. Chesterton
Soulless by Gail Carriger
and now I'm about 3/5 of the way through The Complete Oz.
All on the kindle. My first trip with it, and wow, it was nice not to have to agonize over how many books to lug with me versus the horrific possibility of running out of books to read on vacation.
I read:
the whole Hunger Games trilogy
Yes, Chef: A Memoir by Marcus Samuelsson
The Man Who Knew Too Much by G.K. Chesterton
Soulless by Gail Carriger
and now I'm about 3/5 of the way through The Complete Oz.
All on the kindle. My first trip with it, and wow, it was nice not to have to agonize over how many books to lug with me versus the horrific possibility of running out of books to read on vacation.
![Kevin Xu (kxu65) | 372 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1390443151p1/2310290.jpg)
![Candiss (tantara) | 1207 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1325299894p1/2867198.jpg)
I tried to read City and simply couldn't get into it at all. I loved Waystation, but this one didn't work for me. I'm swapping its spot for The Left Hand of Darkness, because I STILL haven't read it, and I even own a copy. At least I'm swapping a classic for a classic...
I've been getting more reading done than usual over the past week or two, so I'm also going to try to fit Storm Thief by Chris Wooding into my August line-up. I don't read much YA SFF, but this looks (and is said to be) dense, complex, not romance-centric, and original. So I'll give it a shot.
![Candiss (tantara) | 1207 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1325299894p1/2867198.jpg)
Ah, one of the true beauties of an e-reader! I'll always love physical books, but electronic can be so very nice for certain situations. (Every time I fire up my Kindle, I feel like a kid in a sweet shop due to the dozens of unread books just sitting there in the palm of my hand!)
![Jim Mcclanahan (clovis-man) | 485 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1278526139p1/3967410.jpg)
Interesting. I thought they were both great. But it's been more than 30 years since I've read either one. I have a copy of City that I've saved for years. Guess I'll have to see if time has treated it as well as I might hope. Pretty sure I can get my hands on the Le Guin also. Nice that novels weren't usually as long then as some of today's tomes have gotten to be. I should be able to re-read them without sacrificing too much time I have reserved for newer publications.
Right now I'm working my way through The Spheres Of Heaven by the late Charles Sheffield. One of the last things he wrote before his death.
![Nick (doily) | 995 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1622660920p1/622520.jpg)
I know how you feel. I'm that way about Fahrenheit 451. I am FINALLY getting around to reading it -- I hope. As a kid, I loved the movie, and I read and re-read The Martian Chronicles so much that I felt I knew Bradbury really well, and I sorta felt like I had read F-451. But, alas, I never did.
Is now the time?
![Candiss (tantara) | 1207 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1325299894p1/2867198.jpg)
I know how you feel. I'm that way about Fahrenheit 451. I am FIN..."
Fahrenheit 451 is wonderful! Horrible, tragic, thoughtful, prescient, important, and a quick read. Do it! ;)
I have to confess to reading nothing but the daily paper and a couple magazines over the last 2 weeks--blame the Olympics! But I'll be back soon.
I have to apologize for being so quiet here lately, but life has thrown me a few curveballs lately and so my reading time and online time have become virtually nonexistent. All I've been able to read in the last month is:
- Sharps by K.J. Parker (my review)
- Some Kind Of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce (my review)
- The Woman Who Married a Cloud: Collected Stories by Jonathan Carroll (my review)
- vN by Madeline Ashby (my review)
... and currently I'm reading At the Mouth of the River of Bees: Stories, which is the first full collection of stories by Kij Johnson (review soon on Tor.com and my own site)
- Sharps by K.J. Parker (my review)
- Some Kind Of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce (my review)
- The Woman Who Married a Cloud: Collected Stories by Jonathan Carroll (my review)
- vN by Madeline Ashby (my review)
... and currently I'm reading At the Mouth of the River of Bees: Stories, which is the first full collection of stories by Kij Johnson (review soon on Tor.com and my own site)
![Ken (ogi8745) | 1380 comments](https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_25x33-8a3530ed95c3dbef8bf215b080559b09.png)
Couldn't finish the Dick Short Story collection, it was good I was just not interested. Read a couple more Sherlock Holmes stories but same thing. They were good but just not grabbing me
So, I see you guys are reading a Banks Culture novel so in a spirit of friendship I have started on The Player Of Games
(I have a bit of OCD and like to read series from the start so...)
![Christine | 632 comments](https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/f_25x33-d79c46f9428d2aea1444d67c091766a6.png)
![Helen](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1342121072p1/314287.jpg)
I read the Wild Road years ago and went on to it's sequel. I was about to type 'enjoyed it' but perhaps that's inappropriate given the subject matter!
I'm taking a break from Oz (hubby is reading something on the kindle). I just finished Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes (which I liked, but didn't love as much as I expected to) and now I've just started Cherryh's The Faded Sun Trilogy. Only a few chapters in so far, but I love it already.
![Ken (ogi8745) | 1380 comments](https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_25x33-8a3530ed95c3dbef8bf215b080559b09.png)
The Art of Strategy: A Game Theorist's Guide to Success in Business and Life
I finished Kesrith, the first book of The Faded Sun Trilogy, and really loved it. I'm taking a break before continuing to read Changeless, which just came in on the digital lending library and I only have for 2 weeks. I'd probably get to it before 2 weeks were up anyway, but I'd rather not push it and risk not getting to finish!
![Jolie Bonnette (aazari) | 5 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1334987904p1/8931439.jpg)
![A Perfect Blood (The Hollows, #10) by Kim Harrison](https://s3.amazonaws.com/photo.goodreads.com/books/1312426322s/10599805.jpg)
![Robert Lewis](https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_25x33-8a3530ed95c3dbef8bf215b080559b09.png)
![Robert Lewis](https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_25x33-8a3530ed95c3dbef8bf215b080559b09.png)
(I have a bit of OCD and like to read series from the start so...)"
I really don't get it when people talk about the Culture novels as a "series". The characters (almost!) never turn up in more than one book, and it's never clear whether two stories are even set in the same century. I can understand that you might want to see how Banks progressed with his writing, but I've read everything by Iain M. and I only read them in order now because I have to wait for the next one to come out. I never felt like I missed anything.
How do you like The Player of Games?
I think my favorite is still Use of Weapons, but Player of Games was really good -- and maybe a good introduction for someone who's less of a "hard" science fiction fan.
![Random (rand0m1s) | 1064 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1239696335p1/1857936.jpg)
![Ken (ogi8745) | 1380 comments](https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_25x33-8a3530ed95c3dbef8bf215b080559b09.png)
Oh I know, I even mentioned the slight OCD. Basically it cause I like to read book in the order it was written in. Yeah I get that most of these books are stand alone
![Ken (ogi8745) | 1380 comments](https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_25x33-8a3530ed95c3dbef8bf215b080559b09.png)
Looking for something to clear my palette. The last couple of months have been stale. Most of the books haven't interested me.
Started on some Miles candy
Reading Komarr
I finished the Faded Sun trilogy the other day - fantastic! - and am now on to Blameless, the third Parasol Protectorate book. I am loving this series. :)
![Christine | 632 comments](https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/f_25x33-d79c46f9428d2aea1444d67c091766a6.png)
![Jolie Bonnette (aazari) | 5 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1334987904p1/8931439.jpg)
![A Perfect Blood (The Hollows, #10) by Kim Harrison](https://s3.amazonaws.com/photo.goodreads.com/books/1312426322s/10599805.jpg)
![Hunting Ground (Alpha & Omega, #2) by Patricia Briggs](https://s3.amazonaws.com/photo.goodreads.com/books/1330994912s/5292853.jpg)
![The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1) by Suzanne Collins](https://s3.amazonaws.com/photo.goodreads.com/books/1337857402s/2767052.jpg)
Books mentioned in this topic
A Perfect Blood (other topics)Hunting Ground (other topics)
The Hunger Games (other topics)
The Lost Years (other topics)
The Shadowed Sun (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
K.J. Parker (other topics)Graham Joyce (other topics)
Jonathan Carroll (other topics)
Madeline Ashby (other topics)
Kij Johnson (other topics)
More...