It’s that time again where I ask:
Hey, whaddya reading?
What was the last book you read (and how was it)?
What are you reading right now? Er, beside this post, I mean.
Me, I just finished:
Delilah S. Dawson’s HIT — a YA about a girl who takes on the debt of her mother and has to pay it back in a rather unconventional way: kill or recruit other debtors in service to the bank that just secretly took over the US government. It’s fucking rad, this book. It’s like, the metaphor of a teenager taking on the burden of her parents is right on. And Patsy is in some ways a cousin to my own Atlanta Burns* (an heir to the problems her not-great mother brought to bear, uses a gun, Southern, drawn into a conspiracy larger than she cares to handle, small town, unexpected dog).
Christopher Golden’s TIN MEN — doesn’t come out till the end of June, but this is a bad-ass near-future war thriller worth checking out. Terrorists and presidential assassinations and cool bleeding-edge tech and oh yeah soldiers controlling robot drone bodies with their minds. I read it and I thought, “This reads like Terminator plus Saving Private Ryan,” and then I went back and saw that Scott Sigler said exactly that in his blurb. Thus proving that I am secretly Scott Sigler.
Speaking of Scott Sigler —
I am presently reading his own: ALIVE. Which is so far taut as a choking rope and mysterious as the strange rash I have on my left buttock in the shape of Cousin Balki of Perfect Strangers. The book stars teenage protagonists but I don’t think is YA? Whatever, it’s great. Not out till July. I also, rather foolishly, haven’t read enough Sigler in my life, so this goes toward correcting it.
I’m also reading Adam Christopher’s MADE TO KILL — which is, what exactly? Robot pulp noir? I dunno what to call it, but I know I’m loving it so far. (Adam is, of course, my co-writer on The Shield, which hey did you see Drew Johnson’s jumping on board the book and hey look at that art that I’ve posted at the bottom of the page because I’m totally shameless and isn’t it cool?)
Oh! Also, a couple quick administrative notes:
a) I’m gone from Wednesday this week to Monday of next week. Because of Phoenix ComicCon, which is awesome and you should go and I’ll see you there. But that means posting might be light.
b) I feel like some folks haven’t yet seen the winners of the STORY IN SEARCH TERMS contest — but hey, the winners are picked, and if you are a winner, contact me, will ya?
Anyway.
Your turn.
What did you just read?
And what are you reading now?
Time to share the book-love.
Or I guess the book-hate if you didn’t like it, but pssh, whatever.
* by the way, Atlanta Burns is on sale this week at Amazon — the Kindle is at $3.99, and the trade paperback has dropped to $7.50, should you be so inclined to check it out.
Rebecca says:
This month I finished, Darynda Jones’s Sixth Grave on The Edge, J.R Wards’s The King and The Shadows.
The King and Grave I liked, The Shadows…Meh….1/2 way through I was skim reading waiting for the end. :/
Currently reading, Patricia Cornwell’s Port Mortuary (not a fan so far…another one I find myself skimming through just to get it to end), Carrie Vaughn’s Low Midnight and Benedict Jacka Cursed.
May 25, 2015 — 9:59 PM
Anthony W. Eichenlaub says:
I also finished Hit a while ago. It had me thinking for weeks after I was finished, so I felt obligated to write down some words about it over on my blog. Good words. Happy ones.
Now I’ve switched gears to read Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s Hundred Days of Solitude. Apart from the occasional text wall, it’s a pretty amazing book. I know we’re legally obligated to say that classics are good, but sometimes they’re also actually quite good.
May 25, 2015 — 10:17 PM
J.Southe says:
Picked up Dr. Sleep. 1 day later…now I am engrossed in the Shining.
May 25, 2015 — 11:03 PM
lizaskew says:
Both freaking great books. The topiary scene in The Shining is so haunting.
May 27, 2015 — 3:34 PM
Nick says:
First off, Alive is up on my Goodreads to-read list. And it sounded from the blurb that I read interesting.
So let’s see, I just read Bloodland by Alan Glynn. Although the book starts out a little slow (the opening chapter did in fact grab me) with the setting up and all, the rest of the book hits a home run.
For what I’m reading right now? Well….(*checks to see if any cash will be given for this plug….realizes no….oh well*) I’m reading a non-fiction called, 500 Ways To Tell A Better Story by some guy named Chuck Wendig. So far, so good. In fact it’s really helping me in my writing (thanks Chucky boy). Also, reading Chuck’s short, the Forever Endeavor (loving it).
And what’s next? I have two options sitting on my desk: The Devil’s Anvil by Steve Hayes or Inferno by Dan Brown. Most likely I’ll read the latter even though The Lost Symbol was starting to get too coincidental because despite it all, I still had a fun time reading it and the other books in the series.
May 26, 2015 — 2:53 AM
warjna says:
Re-reading David Weber’s Honor Harrington series; up to book 9 “Ashes of Victory.” The series was started in 1993, with “Ashes” published in 2000. This is one of those series that stand the test of time for me. The technology does not have any jarring anachronisms either from the past or from the future (no computer cards or tapes, and no retro-futuristic space cars or the like despite it being set in (if I’ve done the math halfway right) about 3913 or so. And the technology progresses with the series as it does in real life, no stagnation here. The space battles are impressive and (IMO) realistic, the tech explanations are clear, realistic, and jargon-free (and not overwhelming), and the characterization is right where I want it. When Weber has a bad guy he lines everything up to show you exactly what kind and why; ditto his good guys. Their motivations are clear, understandable, and believable, and their actions and reactions are spot on. Best of all, the continuing characters all show solid and believable growth arcs not just in each book but over the series.
This is one of my go-to series for when I’m between money for new books (addict, here!) or for when I’m in that kinda mood. If you want a good military space series, you can’t do better than Weber. I give this series 6 out of 5 stars, and recommend it highly to everyone!
May 26, 2015 — 5:42 AM
mattblackattack says:
RE-READING THE WHOLE SERIES??? How many thousands of pages is that? I agree it has been excellent, unfortunately the most 3 recent installments I feel have been far too much exposition and almost none of the characters we’ve grown to know and love.
May 26, 2015 — 12:46 PM
Ken Preston says:
I’ve just finished reading The Gargoyle, a demented love story about burns victims, calligraphy, religion, pornography, love, mental illness and gargoyles. Amongst other things. Excellent read I highly recommend it.
May 26, 2015 — 5:56 AM
Robert Sadler says:
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. About halfway through, and it’s fantastic.
Last contemporary novel I read was Mockingbird by Chuck. Looking forward to starting the Cormorant.
May 26, 2015 — 8:29 AM
Penquillity says:
Just finished “Waging Heavy Peace” by Neil Young (autobiography). Loved his spontaneous thought process and he’s just a cool dude in general.
About to start “Wuthering Heights” by Emily Bronte (summer reading club on campus). Way out of my comfort zone but hey, it’s good to stretch sometimes.
Bouncing around short story collections – “Trigger Warning” by Neil Gaimon, “The Tarot of Perfection” by Rachel Pollack.
TBR – so many books! Water for Elephants, The Daedalus Incident, Going Postal, The Mistress of Spices, The Secret Life of Bees, Further Out Than You Thought, and the list goes on.
Jeannie Leighton
May 26, 2015 — 11:53 AM
janinmi says:
Just about done with re-read of Eirelan by Liam O’Shiel. Set 1K years post-apocalypse in Ireland (of course) w/return to clan governments and no magical woo-woo or organized religion. Lots of naval battles, a way-cool interp of the Brit-Spanish Elizabethan-era sea war, characters so easy to love (and loathe, but not 1D), please erbuddy go buy this book so the next one can come out a little sooner! Warning: this one is a doorstopper in weight, but not in terms of pacing or interest. So much to see but not so much that it drags. I cannot say enough good things about it. I reviewed it for Foreword Reviews a year or so ago, for those preferring a more coherent take. 😉
May 26, 2015 — 11:59 AM
tone_milazzo (@ToneMilazzo) says:
Just finished Ready Player One. It was fun and fast but reinforced my belief that those of us from Generation X need to get over our obsession with 80s pop culture. We shouldn’t be so self-absorbed, I mean, come on, we’re not Baby Boomers.
May 26, 2015 — 12:18 PM
Jen Spear (@blackskymetro) says:
I just finished reading The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black and was as pleased as ever. She was my introduction to urban fantasy and this was a nice flashback to my younger years when I ate her books up voraciously.
Currently I’m starting in on Uprooted by Naomi Novik.
May 26, 2015 — 12:19 PM
Samantha says:
I am currently rereading/listening to The Dark Tower series on audio, and have been for the past few months. It is wonderful to revisit and despite the change in narrator halfway through I am really, really enjoying listening to it this time around.
I’m also slowly making my way through The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood. I am always amazed at how well she articulates the experience of being a woman in her novels. I feel like I am possibly reading this book in the right time of my life.
May 26, 2015 — 12:50 PM
mattblackattack says:
I’m on the most recent installment of Taylor Anderson’s DESTROYERMEN series, which is some seriously excellent… something… Twilight-Zone war Opera? We’ll go with Twilight Zone War Opera. The most recent book is I think #11 in the series, Straits of Hell, which is so far equally as good as each other installment. I highly recommend it. I am also reading Joss Whedon and John Cassady’s run on Astonishing X-men (#1-#24) which is pretty amazing. I am trying to finish it all so that I can dedicate all my free time to THE FOLD by Peter Clines, which comes out in June. Everything Clines has written ranks among my favorite books, especially 14, which tops my list, and Ex-Heroes, which is basically a novelized zombie vs. superhero comic book arc, and it is also truly excellent.
May 26, 2015 — 12:50 PM
leifthesailor says:
Just finished Extinction Machine by Jon Maberry, and Contagious by Scott Sigler. Started up Absolution Gap by Alistair Reynold’s, a very badass Space Opera if anyone wants a good scifi; Revelation Space is the first in the series.
May 26, 2015 — 1:03 PM
Ryan Viergutz says:
Reynolds rocks the world.
May 26, 2015 — 4:14 PM
anonymous says:
I’ve been going through What Color Is Your Parachute? For Teens based on a recommendation of someone I know. It seems kinda outdated since it was published about 5 years ago and the links it provides either have changed or are completely dead. I also have the 2014 edition of adults to get through, but at the same time I bought the “Make:” Humble Bundle that stopped being on sale today (or tomorrow?) to read up on Raspberry Pi 2 and some other stuff that was in that bundle.
Oy, so many books.
May 26, 2015 — 1:51 PM
annedoughertydc says:
Just started Panopticon by Jenni Fagan. Delinquent Scottish youth as part of an experiment…or possibly not. Yay for unreliable narrators.
May 26, 2015 — 2:48 PM
Maya Langston says:
About to read The Book of Night Women by Marlon James, who is my new favorite author.
May 26, 2015 — 3:05 PM
Alex Kane (@alexjkane) says:
Just finished Kathe Koja’s nineties cult horror novel, ‘The Cipher,’ which was a phenomenal little mindfuck, along with two short books of nonfiction: ‘Richard Pryor: American Id,’ by Jason Bailey, and Tom Roston’s ‘I Lost It at the Video Store: A Filmmakers’ Oral History of a Vanished Era,’ both of which floored me in their own ways.
I’m now reading ‘The Puller’ by Michael Hodges, and Barker’s ‘The Scarlet Gospels.’ Excellent, creepy work on both counts so far.
May 26, 2015 — 4:04 PM
Scott Dyson says:
After finishing MR. MERCEDES, I started BLIND EYE by William Malmborg, a thriller with a horror edge. Great read.
May 26, 2015 — 4:25 PM
M.A. Kropp says:
Just finished Blake Charlton’s Spellwright. Interesting take on magic and learning disabilities. Some characters a bit light on development, but all in all, a good read.
Before that, I read Scalzi’s Fuzzy Nation, which I thought a nice take on the original, and Sound and Fury: Shakespeare Goes Punk by various authors, which is a collection of stories based on Shakepeare’s plays but set in a ‘punk atmosphere (steam-, cyber-, whateverpunk). Neat idea with some really good adaptations of the Bard’s works. Oh, yeah, and there was also a thing called Mockingbird by some Wendig fella. It was not half bad. (It was actually fantastic!)
I am about to start Jason Luthor’s Floor 21, which is out next week. It’s a dystopian novel in which the last remaining humans live on the top floors of a tower and are forbidden to go below, where something called the Creep has taken over. Teenager Jackie isn’t content with simply being told not to go below, and she is determined to find out what is down there, and why the humans are stranded on the top floors of the tower.
May 26, 2015 — 4:27 PM
rowyn says:
I’ve been kicking it old school style lately; been reading an odd mix which could be titled the “books that have also been movies” collection. I started out with Stephen King’s The Shining (had only ever seen the movie and much preferred the book) in preparation for reading Dr Sleep which I guess will be next. Then I also read the Princess Bride by William Goldman (loved the movie, loved the book), and I’m currently reading The Bad Seed by William March.
May 26, 2015 — 6:07 PM
portlandorange (@portlandorange) says:
I’m two books in and deeply hooked on Ben Aaronovitch’s PC Peter Grant series. The formula “magic + London + police procedural” would have intrigued me before I heard a radio interview with Aaronovitch. But then his dialog turned out to be just as funny, natural, and rich as his voice is.
May 26, 2015 — 7:42 PM
alanhammond says:
I’ve only started Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s “In the First Circle.” Honestly, I’vee little more than finished the foreword, which was lengthy, but enlightening with respect to the author’s life and circumstances. Here’s a particularly pertinent excerpt the foreword. Pertinent to me, as an asking author, that is:
“Solzhenitsyn wrote the book under exceptionally difficult circumstances. In 1953, as he was about to emerge from the Gulag after eight years of incarceration, he contracted cancer, which brought him near death’s door in the months that followed. Consigned to ‘perpetual’ internal exile in Kazakhstan after prison and camp, he found work as a village schoolteacher. In every spare moment he wrote.”
D**n him!
Bless him.
How do my excuses for failing to write stack up against the gulag, exile to Kazakhstan, cancer and a general abysmal existence? They do not stack up at all.
May 26, 2015 — 10:57 PM
M.D. Tjong Ayong says:
Finished Legends – Stories in Honour of David Gemmell last night. Will be starting on Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell soon.
May 27, 2015 — 12:53 AM
njmagas says:
Just finished reading China Miéville’s ‘Perdido Street Station’ and, to be honest, it didn’t do much for me. It left me hanging in a lot of places and didn’t give me a sense of urgency to keep reading it, so it took six months to get through. Right now I’m reading a non-fiction, ‘The Japanese Tea Ceremony’ by A. L. Sadler, but after I get my exam behind me I’m looking forward to starting Ellen Kushner’s ‘Thomas the Rhymer.’
Thanks for asking. 🙂
May 27, 2015 — 9:26 AM
K R Green says:
I just finished Jim Butcher’s first Codex Alera book: Furies of Calderon, which was pretty awesome.
I’m now reading the third Mistborn book by Brandon Sanderson, Hero of Ages, and it’s awesome so far.
May 27, 2015 — 9:50 AM
Elizabeth Marling says:
The most recently published book I finished was ‘The Best of All Possible Worlds’ by Karen Lord. It was one of those books that if it was a chick you’d give her a solid six. Three out of five. Readable, enjoyable, good, but not great. In a word: gut-wrenching. Which really kind of bummed out because it had all the elements to be great.
Do you ever feel like books get glowing reviews because the author lines up all the elements to make a truly original story that people will want to read again and again and then doesn’t use them? Like good china that your in-laws “ooh” and “aaah” about as they look at it from the table while eating on some less special plates? I’m a simple, midwestern gal at heart. I really don’t care about the stuff you own that you think is too good to waste on the likes of me.
I don’t think writers do it maliciously, but sometimes when I read a novel I can tell that the author has so much more content than she is including in this specific book, for whatever reason, and I’m not impressed. This struck me as one of those books. Lord felt like she was saving up better stuff for some other novel, like she just included enough to let critics and discerning minds know she is good and not one little bit more.
The premise of the novel is as follows: In the distant future, humanity has formed marginally divergent subspecies as the result of space colonization, and one group has been suddenly brought to the verge of extinction by the destruction of their home planet. The survivors are now a small band of refugees seeking acceptance into one of the existing groups, and our protagonists are a small band of scientists tasked with finding the best fit for the displaced. This takes them and us on a wild sociological survey of sorts in which the many diverse environments and peoples the human race has become , so we are told, will be studied and assessed.
How could this book NOT be awesome?
Given that this is a book about exploring exotic people and places, none of it is very exotic. No breathtaking flora and fauna, no bizarre adaptations written off as more than the oddly placed anecdote, and maybe most disappointing no hover cars, no matter transporters. This diverse set of cultures reads like H. G. Wells’ the Time Machine without the Morlocks. There aren’t even any cheesy dragons or dinosaurs, let alone something like a futuristic tiger. I would have been happy with the Cheshire Cat by the end of this book.
Karen Lord does some things very, very right. I liked her characters. I liked them so much I wanted to hang out with them on the most boring nature walk in history. Their course was predictable, and I still wished I could invite them over for some Soylent Green and Cherry Wine. All served as it should have been the first time, on the good china.
May 27, 2015 — 2:52 PM
lizaskew says:
Prince Of Tides by Pat Conroy (totally incredible southern writer) in paperback and also, I’m relistening to Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children so I can read the sequel!
May 27, 2015 — 5:38 PM
Teresa says:
I loved (a lot!) SHIMMER by Paula Weston. Third book in a fun series about katana-wielding angel/human hybrids with plenty of complicated histories and internal disputes to shake up their group. Bonus awesomeness: gender equality is present as part of the fabric of the world, never mentioned, just something that is.
Also recently finished a book I did not like, but I won’t name names. Any time the protagonist’s emotional arc ends with joy in becoming most prized possession of another person, count me out. Jealousy is not a unit measure of love, people.
Other recent favorites:
FIVES AND TWENTY-FIVES by Michael Pitre, based on the author’s experiences in the Iraq war.
OPENLY STRAIGHT by Bill Konigsberg. A teenage story of experimenting with the labels we apply to ourselves and what it means to be honest.
All of Rainbow Rowell’s books (that was a fun binge read week).
I also just started HIT by Delilah S. Dawson, after reading a novella by her alter ego, Ava Lovelace.
May 28, 2015 — 2:09 AM
Carolina Mac says:
Almost finished Ready to Die by Lisa Jackson. Great read – I’m turning pages like a crazy woman – oh, yeah – I am a crazy woman.
May 28, 2015 — 9:42 AM
jrupp25 says:
Just finished DISINTEGRATION by Richard Thomas. When you buy this book (and you must buy it) block out six hours of your time to read it because once you start, you will not be able to put it down. Richard Thomas left me shaking.
May 28, 2015 — 12:44 PM
Kyra Dune says:
The last book I read was The Demi Monde: Winter by Rod Rees and it was the awesomesauce. It has a science fiction kind of plot, but reads like some kind of Victorian era, political, sort of thing, I’m not sure really how to describe it, but I loved it. Great writing, great setting, great characters. A five star read for sure.
Now I’m reading Pearls Of Lutra by Brian Jacques and it’s okay. I can dig anthropomorphic animals but the dialogue is wearing thin on me. Here’s an example so you get what I mean “Worrum ’bout ee gurt blizzard, will ee cum back an’ eat us oop?” All the characters don’t speak this way, but most of them have sort of strange speech patterns and it makes reading the book something of a chore.
May 28, 2015 — 1:56 PM
Shane Kroetsch says:
I’m in the middle of The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. I get excited whenever I pick it up and don’t want to put it down, something that hasn’t happened in awhile. Besides trying to get through the latest issues of Geist, The Walrus and Prairie Fire I’ve been reading a hell of alot of blogs on WordPress!
May 28, 2015 — 5:07 PM
Callie says:
Right now I’m reading Ruby Shadows by Evangeline Anderson. It just came out yesterday, and although I was in the middle of reading Part two of Echoes & Silence Dark Secrets by A.M. Hudson, I had to stop so I could read Ms. Anderson’s book- I was just in that kinda mood-instead of a y.a. kinda mood. A.M Hudson’s work is a little harder for me to get into since they are Australian and sometimes it’s too much work for me.
For the whole month though I’ve also read Talyn Scott’s Club Saturday, Luther’s Return (Scanguard Vamp Series) by Tina Folsom, and then I re-read the Elemental Series by Elizabeth Hunter. I love that series, and while waiting for another of her books to come out, it seemed like a good time to go back to the beginning. I found a new author, new for me anyway, named Penelope King and read her Demonblood series, totally awesome!
Yes, I have way too much time on my hands! No, but really, I’m an insomniac so I do most of my reading between 2am until the hubby wakes up for work at around 5:30, then I read a couple of hours longer and start my day.
May 30, 2015 — 9:34 AM