Once in a while, I like to poke my head in and ask:
So, whatcha reading?
Like, right now.
What is it?
Is it good?
Should we be reading it?
(My own update: I just finished reading Peter Clines’ The Fold, which is a twisty little sci-fi thriller about a group who creates a teleportation technology based on folding reality — and, duh, it doesn’t go so well. It was really good! Also just polished off Delilah Dawson’s Wake of Vultures, which is so good it’ll make you hate her because it’s too good. Weird Westy fantasy stuff, different from but in line with John Hornor’s totally amazing The Incorruptibles.)
Drop in the comments.
Tell us what you’re reading omg right now.
DO IT OR I RELEASE THE BEES
Kim Tough says:
I just finished Station Eleven as well! Now I am reading Knight’s Shadow by Sebastien DeCastell – good and swashbuckly!
March 2, 2015 — 1:25 AM
Jan O'Connell says:
“The Postmistress” by Sarah Blake – a WWII story set in London, Europe and Maine. Best summed up by the quote on the flyleaf from legendary war correspondent Martha Gellhorn: “War happens to people, one by one. That is really all I have to say and it seems to me I have been saying it forever.” Read, weep and think hard about what’s happening beyond our safe little worlds.
March 2, 2015 — 1:25 AM
Lady Jewels Diva says:
Branding for Dummies. It followed Social Psychology for Dummies last week.
March 2, 2015 — 1:29 AM
thilani says:
On a graphic novel spree at the moment – re-read “Freakangels” by Warren Ellis and then moved on to “Pretty deadly” and “Lazarus” and “east of West”
March 2, 2015 — 1:33 AM
Eric B says:
When you’re done with those, check out “Saga” if you haven’t already. A big collected volume shipped recently. It’s awe-inspiring.
March 2, 2015 — 2:55 AM
Perrin says:
Re-reading _Dream Park_ by Larry Niven & Steven Barnes. It’s 2055, and California has finally started recovering from the Great Quake of 1988. One of the economic engines driving that recovery is Dream Park, a theme park that offers the most amazing experiences modern technology can offer. The rides and shows are first-rate, but the primary attraction… is the Games. Live Action Role Playing taken to the maximum practical limit, the Game Masters who direct operations behind the scenes and the Loremasters who guide the players through the fiendishly clever adventures are the rockstars of this era. But when a Park security guard turns up dead, for real, it’s up to Alex Griffin, Chief of Park Security, to really play a Game for the first time in his life in the name of catching the true killer. But even a man who looks behind the curtain daily as part of his job needs a reminder that nothing is ever quite as it seems…
March 2, 2015 — 1:33 AM
Rachel Eliason (@racheleliason) says:
I’m a little behind the curve on the craze, but I am reading the second books in the Songs of Fire and Ice. I’m enjoying it a lot, I have to say.
March 2, 2015 — 1:55 AM
Silent_Dan says:
Right now, I’m reading this very post.
But as for books, I’m having a hard time settling on any one.
March 2, 2015 — 2:01 AM
Shawn Allen says:
The Wayseers by Garret John LoPorto, and I just finished the rules for Cards Against Humanity – all while listening to Rick Springfield. Unfortunately, there weren’t solitaire rules for CAH.
March 2, 2015 — 2:05 AM
Heather says:
Dead Beat by Jim Butcher. Book 7 in the Dresden Files. I’m about halfway through so there’s more exposition on what the bad guys and gals are doing and it’s some seriously freaky shit. I love this series.
After that I’m hoping to read some of the many werewolf and shifter short story collections that are currently taking over my desk.
John Scalzi. Read him. Lock In. Redshirts. Omg yes!!!
I could ramble on far too long with books.
March 2, 2015 — 2:07 AM
tedra says:
The Maze Runner by James Dashner. I fell im love with this story so much!! I’m taking a break from the 2nd just because of how dark the first one is. My own is dark as well and that just calls for bad head space. Once I finish my last few chapters of my own, I’ll be reading, Illumine by Alivia Anders. I’ve really great things about this book. I hope its true.
March 2, 2015 — 2:17 AM
Kaidan says:
Oh, Christ. Here we go.
Machiavelli’s The Prince. But I feel like I am perpetually reading The Prince. I’m also reading Machiavelli: A Renaissance Life by Joseph Markulin. If you enjoy strong character development then I don’t recommend it, but it’s useful for world context.
I just finished Stephen King’s The Stand this morning. It destroyed me. Existential crisis on crack. Highly recommend.
I’m also reading Atlanta Burns, by some weirdo. It’s spirited and visceral and adventurous and if you’re into female characters with agency spewing from every orifice then this is your book.
And, lastly, I’m rereading the last draft of my own novel, which just makes me want to cry and kick small animals. My ego has never ached more.
March 2, 2015 — 2:20 AM
Dan Dan The Art Man says:
I’m reading Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson. It is awesome epic fantasy. I’m liking it much more than the first book in the Stormlight Archive series – The Way of Kings.
I’m also finally reading through the Harry Potter books. They are ridiculously fun. I’m in book 5 right now, The Order of the Pheonix. I can’t wait to see Proffessor Umbrage get her comeuppance. She better. I’ve enjoyed each book more than the one before and I’m really glad I decided to finally finish reading these books.
March 2, 2015 — 2:21 AM
Melissa Lewicki says:
Several years ago I had to drive back and forth from Texas to California several times due to a family crisis. i bought all seven HP books on CD to play as I drove. I blush to admit that three years later I am still listening to them one after the other….
March 2, 2015 — 2:42 AM
matthewholmes75 says:
I’m currently reading The Way of Kings (Brandon Sanderson) – it’s a complete departure for me as it’s an epic fantasy. I’ve not ever read anything like this since my ‘typical’ reading diet is a mix of literary and upmarket fiction and non-fiction/history/biography. In honesty, I only popped this on my e-reader to relax my mind in between finishing the last few chapters of a historical fiction that I’m currently writing. And….I kind of like this book.
Dan Dan The Art Man (comment above) says that Radiance is even better than The Way of Kings so perhaps I’ll try that next. In general, I appreciate the imagery and sharpness of the writing in this book. I really don’t ‘get’ epic fantasy fiction but the writing has kept me reading and I would definitely recommend this book, especially to people like me who have traditionally eschewed epic novels. Worth the read, no matter who you are.
March 2, 2015 — 2:34 AM
Jeb says:
Ghost Story by Toby Litt. My all time favourite adult book. It’s a hard read due to the subject matter (still birth) and the real place it reflects (Litt’s partners own miscarriages) which is spoken of in a sort of prologue. A book not advised to read in one sitting as the reader needs to be torn open by the pain Aggie feels and healed as she is healed.
A good book to reset your own life.
March 2, 2015 — 2:35 AM
Melissa Lewicki says:
I just finished rereading several Dick Francis books. I can read one a day. I really love them. And, I just started Rick Riordan’s The Devil Went Down to Austin. It is terrific. How is it possible I only just started this book?
March 2, 2015 — 2:45 AM
ina says:
Just finished –
The Martian (Andy Weir)
Palimpsest (Catherynne Valente)
A Fashion in Shrouds (Margery Allingham)
Looking for Alaska (John Green)
Am trying to decide if I should just keep gobbling up Campion books or I should take a break from popcorn and read Life After Life, which everyone keeps telling me is brilliant and beautiful. Thoughts?
March 2, 2015 — 2:54 AM
jaggedrain says:
I’ve been reading some Terry Pratchett, which is always fun (did Wyrd Sisters, Witches Abroad and Maskerade last week) and now I’m having some fun with Heinlein. Did Stranger and Grumbles over the weekend, and at the moment I’m busy with The Rolling Stones.
I’ve come to the conclusion that I haven’t really read enough of his juveniles, because they are enormously brilliant.
March 2, 2015 — 3:01 AM
ina says:
Just introduced my 8 yo to Pratchett (The Tiffany Aching series) – he’s totally in love.
March 2, 2015 — 3:11 AM
jjtoner says:
Farewell to Russia by Jim Williams, a book about a nuclear accident in Russia told with style by a consummate writer. I will read all of Jim Williams’s books. His writing is amazing.
March 2, 2015 — 3:04 AM
K.D. Blankenship says:
I’m on book three of the Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne. Man, I can’t get enough of the adventures of Atticus and Oberon. They make me laugh, and from what I’ve heard, they might even make me cry. I’m also slowly ant-lining my way through the Deadworld series by J.N. Duncan and have thought about dedicating my life to watching emotionally scarred bad-ass chicks fall in love with very kind vampires that make good coffee. I would love to dig my fingers into The Witcher books by Andrzej Sapkowski, but I just can’t make any more time for it. They are next on my list!
March 2, 2015 — 3:04 AM
Billie says:
Still reading Teatro Grottesco by Thomas Ligotti. Been reading it on and off between books for about a year. Library fees have built up but it’s pretty damn good. It’s a book of horror stories that have a feel of Lovecraft about them. I’ll be finished by Christmas.
March 2, 2015 — 3:04 AM
Bonita Gutierrez says:
I binged on Maggie Stiefvater’s The Raven Boys – The Raven Cycle Books 1-3. She’s an amazing writer who transcends her YA genre. Also, comic series Lazarus by Greg Rucka. Actually anything by Greg Rucka is a good bet if you like strong female protagonists. And lastly, I’m gonna plug my writing partner’s – Camilla Ochlan – novella The Seventh Lane. It’s such a cool urban fantasy noir. And the audio book is fantastic!
March 2, 2015 — 3:04 AM
pretendscious says:
Right now I’m reading Nick Hornby’s “Slam”, which I’ve read before, but when I was much younger. As it centers around a young boy dealing with puberty, it was interesting to read it again and see how my thoughts have changed on various things throughout the book. Ultimately, the main character gets his girlfriend pregnant and, after asking for help from his poster of Tony Hawk, is thrown into his future life, raising this child and living with his girlfriend.
I would recommend it for anyone. Hornby does an awesome job of capturing the sort of well-meaning ignorance of young boys. The main character isn’t perfect by any means, and naive in his youth, as well as an unreliable narrator, which lends to the sort of relationship the book builds between the reader and the protagonist.
Great stuff 🙂
March 2, 2015 — 3:19 AM
Julie Hawkins says:
Just finished beta reading Transcendence, book three of the Aurora Rising trilogy by G.S. Jennsen, comes out this month. Really good sci-fi.
While I’m waiting for the paperback to add to my collection I’m reading Shadow Over Avalon by C. N. Lesley, a sci-fi twist on the Arthurian legend. I’ve recently finished Dakiti by E.J. Fisch and soon to start book two Nexus. Also read Stars and Empire 2 some good and not so good stuff in that box but it’s a good way to check out new or upcoming authors.
And of course I’m reading your posts, which I thoroughly enjoy.
March 2, 2015 — 3:20 AM
Terri Adam says:
Just finished Jeff Vandermeer’s Annihilation, and I’m not sure how I feel about it. It was tough not having names for the characters, but was an engaging story anyhow.
March 2, 2015 — 3:24 AM
nikki @ book punks says:
I JUST finished Apocalypse Now Now, and the writing reminded me a lot of your books. Which is another way of saying it is def very good and worth a read.
March 2, 2015 — 3:55 AM
Leslie says:
I just finished Tracking the Tempest by Nicole Peeler about a half selkie and her crazy nonhuman friends yesterday and today I started Unbound by Jim C Hines in a series which has the coolest magic ever to be writ about. Libriomancy. If you haven’t, read it now.
March 2, 2015 — 3:59 AM
Inge @ Bookshelf Reflections says:
PLEASE DON’T RELEASE THE BEES. D: I’m reading Hero of Ages (Mistborn #3) by Brandon Sanderson, which is awesome. That guy knows how to tell a story!
March 2, 2015 — 4:09 AM
Sam Salt says:
I finally got around to Jim Thompson and currently reading a quartet of his books (The Getaway, The Killer inside Me, The Grifters, Pop. 1280). I hadn’t realised how good he was, nor how raw his writing was. He goes into dark places that even most contemporary writers won’t touch.
March 2, 2015 — 4:19 AM
Trine says:
I’ve got a lot on my reading plate right now.
I am in the middle of reading “Empire of Dust” by Jacey Bedford, a space opera about Cara who’s is a psi-tech on the run from her former lover and employer, and Ben, who is the commander of a world-building psi-tech team about to set up a new world for a group of luddites. The story is interesting, I like the world building and the concept, but unfortunately the book is a total slog, filled with stiff unrealistic dialogue and shoddy character development. I am determined to soldier on to the end though.
As a respite from the book just mentioned, I just finished “Zero Sum Game” by SL Huang, a page-turner about Cas Russell, a retrieval expert with serious and frightening math skills (a skill I never thought would be interesting, but it really is), who gets whirled into something sinister and disturbing after saving a young woman from a Colombian drug cartel. It has a super plot, great story and intriguing characters. Go buy and read immediately.
Turning the last page of “Zero Sum Game” I went straight to my book pusher of choice and bought the next installment in the series “Half Life” which, though only a few pages in, is every bit as interesting and good.
March 2, 2015 — 4:24 AM
Jason Rogers says:
The Mote in God’s Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. Great read so far. Love Niven’s works.
March 2, 2015 — 4:33 AM
Katherine Hetzel says:
Just finished ‘Elizabeth is Missing’. It’s whodunnit – but the person trying to solve the mystery is descending ever deeper into dementia and forgetfulness. Approached from the point of view of a mind struggling to cope with the present while getting very mixed up with the past, it’s very cleverly written so that the past is clear, but the present is often fractured and disjointed but with flashes of complete lucidity.
It could be a difficult read for anyone caring for someone suffering from dementia, or it may be a comfort because it’s so realistic – I’m not sure. I found at times, for me personally, it was both…
March 2, 2015 — 4:38 AM
lizaskew says:
I’ve been trying out latest Stephen Kings. I finished Bag Of Bones recently and now I’m on Duma Key. So far I like Duma better, but both books have a sort of smoothed out quality that I haven’t noticed in Kings work before. They both spend lots of time establishing a realistic character’s real life dramas, kind of sneaking in supernatural revelations along the way. It’s really well done of course, but I prefer his older stuff. I just read Misery for the first time over Christmas and that book was the shit.
March 2, 2015 — 4:41 AM
Davide Mana says:
Non-fiction: Paula Berinstein’s “Making Space Happen”, a book about the development of space ventures by the private sector. Or, enterpreneurs in space! Great book, highly entertaining, packed with ideas.
Fiction: just started Eric Brown’s “Jani and the Great Game”, first in a series of steampunkish spy stories set in India. I’m just a few pages in, but it looks good…
March 2, 2015 — 4:44 AM
Gherardo Psicopompo says:
Well… Plenty of things, as usual! 😀
But I’ll speak only of english-language ones:
– “The Ministry of Thunder” by Davide Mana, great pulp adventure set in Shanghai in the ’30s with sexy foxy woman and ninjas and taoist magic and that sort o’ stuff.
– “Madness on the Orient Express”, collecting ideas for some Lovecraftian rpgs adventures.
– “The Tough guide to Fantasyland” by Diana Wynne Jones, just arrived via Amazon… I’m just taking a look inside, I swear!
So many books, so little time… >_<
March 2, 2015 — 5:09 AM
krazyslayer187 says:
I’m late to the game, but I’m reading Gone Girl before my friends spoil it for me. They all watched the movie. I also grabbed Atlanta Burns, so that’s next on my list! 😀
March 2, 2015 — 5:13 AM
Catherine says:
re – reading patrick Rothfuss ‘the name of the wind’- amazing book, actually can’t wait for the third one to be released. I would definitely recommend reading these!
March 2, 2015 — 5:13 AM
Ashlie says:
Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor (2nd in a trilogy about angels and demons warring- love it)
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (I love the style but it’s not as plot driven/fast as stuff I’m reading lately)
just finished Yes, Please by Amy Poehler (Love her, the book bounces all over the place but I enjoyed it)
March 2, 2015 — 5:35 AM
Sigrid Ellis says:
I just finished The New Jim Crow. I really cannot recommend this highly ENOUGH. It very clearly explains the origin, existence, and operation of racial caste in the United States, and how the mass incarceration system (in conjunction with racially enforced policing) have disenfranchised black America.
It’s painful and frustrating and very, very good.
March 2, 2015 — 5:37 AM
Roo says:
I’m reading the miniatures by Jessie Burton, which is good, but I’m trying to find the book you mentioned by delilah dawson, Wake of Vultures, and can’t find it anywhere. Isn’t it on sale to the public?
March 2, 2015 — 5:44 AM
legreene515 says:
“Middlesex” by Jeffrey Eugenides. I’m wondering how I missed this book when it was a best seller. It’s fantastic. The imagery Eugenides uses is wonderful. The subject matter a little hard to read sometimes, but written so beautifully.
March 2, 2015 — 5:53 AM
Kimberly says:
I always have a non fiction and a fiction on the go: for the first, A Way of Being by Carl Rogers; for the second, The Inventor’s Companion by Ariel Tachna.
Loving the feelz and character development in Tachna’s book and–holy fuck–Rogers is WONDERFUL.
March 2, 2015 — 5:53 AM
Anthony Karcz says:
I had been reading Richard Kadrey’s “The Getaway God” but it was my second Sandman Slim book in a row and I needed a break.
Luckily, Elizabeth Bear’s “Karen Memory” came along with it’s drop-dead gorgeous cover to lure me in. It’s a really fun read. Slightly claustrophobic; but now that Things Have Happened, we’re starting to get some new locales and the titular character can start breaking out of her routine.
March 2, 2015 — 5:55 AM
Nicola Alter says:
Just started Ancillary Justice. Not far enough in yet to make an overall judgement but am really intrigued so far – a very unique character perspective!
March 2, 2015 — 5:56 AM
Catherine King, Author says:
I’m just finishing up YOU by my neighbor Caroline Kepnes. It’s one of those novels you can’t put down once you start reading. Joe works in a bookstore and the day he meets his victim he begins stalking her. He does whatever it takes (and I do mean whatever) to be near her and try to win her over. This book is creepy, mesmerizing, and captivating. It’s actually funny too. Caroline’s sense of humor permeates the whole story and I think that is what makes it so relatable. There is plenty of sarcasm and wit to balance out the creep factor. I highly recommend it.
March 2, 2015 — 6:04 AM
precariouswriter says:
The Book Thief
March 2, 2015 — 6:11 AM
Jaime says:
Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews. It’s about this world where magic exists but exists in waves where there’s only magic or only technology. It follows a pretty bad ass woman named…you guessed it….Kate Daniels who has powerful magic but is a mercenary. There Re vampires, shape shifters, gods, and various forms of supernatural creatures. It’s a funded with lots of violence magic, and witty comments. OK, sometimes the witty comments might go a little overboard but its enjoyable. It satiates my need/obsession for action, magic and supernatural beings. Not really great books but fun and entertaining.
March 2, 2015 — 6:14 AM
Andrea Stanet says:
I’m reading a little out of my comfort zone at the moment. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell, and I just started Outlanders. Also slowly working my way through a manga series called Emma. For my fantasy fix, I’m listening to The Dream Thieves. I have been very surprised that I’m really enjoying N&S. I expected it to be a harder read. Just started Outlanders and am impressed so far. Loving Emma! In the first 3 volumes, it’s had me misting up several times. Now that I’m writing this out, I see the connection – three of the four have strong themes around class, which has been on my mind lately. That would explain why I’ve been drawn to them!
March 2, 2015 — 6:21 AM
Robert Grant says:
Just finished Working Stiff: Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner by Judy Melinek and T. J. Mitchell. Fascinating, macabre, darkly humorous and chock full of forensic detail for storytellers. I urge you all to read it.
March 2, 2015 — 6:22 AM
samhawkewrites says:
Just finished The Rosie Effect (Graeme Simsion) which was delightful. Reading the City Stained Red by Sam Sykes, which is a lot of fun. On the non-fiction front, partway through Thinking Fast and Slow, and looking forward to Cary Elwes’ Princess Bride book, which is waiting by my bed.
March 2, 2015 — 6:32 AM
Kaye Rumson says:
Just finished Free Range Chicken Gardens by Jessi Bloom. I am obsessed with chickens and love to garden but didn’t learn much new in this. In fiction , The Independence of Miss Mary Bennett by Colleen McCullough. I like her writing but can see why fans of Pride and Prejudice have issues with it. The characters change by the end, but it felt like the author forced it. In short, I liked it well enough but have read better.
March 2, 2015 — 6:53 AM