The Currently Reading Thread v. A Clash of Kings

[masterthes]

Hellboy Omnibus Volume 1: Seed of Destruction by Mike Mignola

[masterthes]

Guns of the Dawn was one of my favorite books last month, so I'd thought I'd give another book by Adrian Tchaikovsky a go with Spiderlight

[masterthes]

Saga, Book 1 by Brian K. Vaughan

[masterthes]

That's a wrap for June

June (12)
The Caped Crusade: Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture by Glen Weldon 5/31 - 6/2 *****
The Ultimate History of the ‘80’s Teen Movie by James King 6/5 - 6/8 ****
Rotten Movies We Love by Rotten Tomatoes 6/8 - 6/9 ****
Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon by Jason Hibberd 6/9 - 6/11 *****
Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman 6/12 ***
Things Have Gotten Worse Since Last We Spoke by Eric LaRocca 6/12 ****
A Shadow in Summer by Daniel Abraham 6/16 - 6/20 ****
The Hidden Palace by Helene Wecker 6/21 - 6/24 ***
1973: Rock at the Crossroads by Andrew Grant Jackson 6/24 - 6/27 ****
Hellboy: Seed of Destruction by Mike Mignola 6/27 ****
Spiderlight by Adrian Tchaikovsky 6/27 - 6/29 ****
Saga: Book One by Brian K. Vaughan 6/29 - 6/30 *****

[masterthes]

Reading the next book in The Long Price Quartet, A Betrayal in Winter by Daniel Abraham

[masterthes]

Well, that book just didn't work out for me, so I'm finally getting back to Terry Brooks' The Word and the Void trilogy with A Knight of the Word

[Evermind]

Done, now it's time to start Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith

Finished this, this was way better than Lethal White, was pretty much hooked for the whole book. Spent 3+ hours in the mornings during my vacation reading this.

Next up, Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett

Done, quite a fun read.

Getting into It by Stephen King finally, not exactly sure about this one so far.

[Cool Chris]

It is my favorite novel. It is not the best book I have ever read. It isn't even King's best work. But largely based on where my life was when I read it, it was the most moving, heartbreaking, engrossing piece of artistic work I had ever, and have since ever, encountered.

[Kwyjibo]

It is a great novel and it's probably the book I've read the most.

[masterthes]

I love It with the passion of a thousand suns

Well, A Knight of the Word was underwhelming. Not sure if I'm going to finish the trilogy or not. Going to take a bit of a fantasy break and instead read Young Frankenstein: The Story of the Making of the Film by Mel Brooks

[masterthes]

Time for Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

[ErHaO]

In order to spend less time behind a light emitting screen and improve/restore/maintain my (native) linguistic skills, I ordered an e-reader. It was a good decision, because I have been reading a lot more.

I recently read the JK Rowling detective novels (Strike series) and Redbreast by Jo Nesbo (earlier book in the Harry Hole series).

My thoughts:

-Cuckoo's calling - Solid, I liked the characters and the pacing.
-Silkworm - I like the murder mystery aspect and how some of the clues where handled. The lead characters were great, but I disliked most characters related to the publishing industry. Also some major plotlines that I feel that did not really resolve.
-Career of Evil - Good and suspenseful. I thought the whole wedding stuff was perhaps a bit in romantic comedy territory though, but it is was fun anyways.
-Lethal White - Solid but not as exciting as the other ones. I do appreciate this novel feels different and sets up the detective bureau becoming a legit thing.
-Troubled Blood - I absolutely love this one, almost everything about it. Loved how every storyline resolved and I think many of it's central themes were handled very well.

-Redbreast - I think Rowling writes better, so I had to get used to this style for a bit (keep in mind this could be a Dutch translation thing). Perhaps a bit of a slow start, but it paid off. I liked that the story switched between WWII and 2000 and how the stories were related.

I think I will stick with detective novels for a while, so I will continue with the Harry Hole series.

[Evermind]

-Cuckoo's calling - Solid, I liked the characters and the pacing.
-Silkworm - I like the murder mystery aspect and how some of the clues where handled. The lead characters were great, but I disliked most characters related to the publishing industry. Also some major plotlines that I feel that did not really resolve.
-Career of Evil - Good and suspenseful. I thought the whole wedding stuff was perhaps a bit in romantic comedy territory though, but it is was fun anyways.
-Lethal White - Solid but not as exciting as the other ones. I do appreciate this novel feels different and sets up the detective bureau becoming a legit thing.
-Troubled Blood - I absolutely love this one, almost everything about it. Loved how every storyline resolved and I think many of it's central themes were handled very well.

Been a while since I've read the first three, but I'd say for me it's The Silkworm > Troubled Blood > the rest. The rest is decent, but not as good as these two. Lethal White could've used some editing for sure.

[ErHaO]

-Cuckoo's calling - Solid, I liked the characters and the pacing.
-Silkworm - I like the murder mystery aspect and how some of the clues where handled. The lead characters were great, but I disliked most characters related to the publishing industry. Also some major plotlines that I feel that did not really resolve.
-Career of Evil - Good and suspenseful. I thought the whole wedding stuff was perhaps a bit in romantic comedy territory though, but it is was fun anyways.
-Lethal White - Solid but not as exciting as the other ones. I do appreciate this novel feels different and sets up the detective bureau becoming a legit thing.
-Troubled Blood - I absolutely love this one, almost everything about it. Loved how every storyline resolved and I think many of it's central themes were handled very well.

Been a while since I've read the first three, but I'd say for me it's The Silkworm > Troubled Blood > the rest. The rest is decent, but not as good as these two. Lethal White could've used some editing for sure.

I read them all in a go. Wasn't planning to, but I guess it shows I really like the series. As I said, I think these books differ enough to prevent it from becoming monotonous. For me troubled blood is at the top by a wide margin because I think all the elements are good (the main case, the sidecases, character development, the variety of themes etc.). Career, Silkworm and Cuckoo are about equal for different reasons. I slightly prefer Career of Evil out of those three. Lethal White was solid but nothing more for me, I agree some editing would've/could've made it better.

[vtgrad]

To my mind, IT is the beginning of the Meta world for King... so many recurrent themes, characters, and stylistic choices that find their roots in IT.  The novel is deep for certain, and the ending was incredible for me personally.

While it's not my favorite King novel (forever will be Salem's Lot), it's the multiverse beginning in my mind.

Currently reading "A Coven of Vampires" by Brian Lumley and revisiting excerpts from Beyond Order by Peterson.

[Evermind]

Yeah I definitely see recurrent themes in It. As I've read King spontaneously and out of order, I don't know if they began to appear here or in the other novels first, but it's definitely noticeable. I'm hooked with the main storyline, but I'm currently on the second interlude and those are a little bit dull. I can't wait to get back to the actual story with kids or now adults returning to Derry.

I read them all in a go. Wasn't planning to, but I guess it shows I really like the series. As I said, I think these books differ enough to prevent it from becoming monotonous. For me troubled blood is at the top by a wide margin because I think all the elements are good (the main case, the sidecases, character development, the variety of themes etc.). Career, Silkworm and Cuckoo are about equal for different reasons. I slightly prefer Career of Evil out of those three. Lethal White was solid but nothing more for me, I agree some editing would've/could've made it better.

I felt the characters—all of them—were just done perfectly believable in The Silkworm. I guess publishing industry was way more well-known to Rowling than, say, the music industry, and I felt she excelled at bringing it to life in that novel. That, and I thought she nailed the relationship between Strike and Robin in that book (she also did it in Troubled Blood, which is largely why it's my second favourite book in the series and why I stayed up until 5 AM on my vacation in another city to read a couple more chapters before going to sleep).

I should re-read Career of Evil, as I don't remember much from it, but given my to-read list, my upcoming trip to a bookshop on Friday, and my to-reread list, I doubt I'll get to it anytime soon.

[masterthes]

I ultimately DNF'd the Andy Weir. Too much science for my taste. I ended up reading a Gene Wilder bio called Gene Wilder: Funny and Sad by Brian Scott Mednick. (My 100th read of the year) It was an enjoyable, short read (little over 200 pages, and if you discount the photo insert, it's probably less). Anyway, going to read Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer

[Cool Chris]

The novel is deep for certain, and the ending was incredible for me personally.

That was incredibly moving for me as well. I read it my freshman year in college, at a time when I felt (rightly) I was losing most of my dearest friends, an experience I took very hard, and took years to recover from. To paraphrase from another King work, "I never had friends later on in life like the ones I had when I was a kid. Jesus, does anyone?"

'

Yeah I definitely see recurrent themes in It. As I've read King spontaneously and out of order, I don't know if they began to appear here or in the other novels first, but it's definitely noticeable. I'm hooked with the main storyline, but I'm currently on the second interlude and those are a little bit dull. I can't wait to get back to the actual story with kids or now adults returning to Derry.

Glad you are enjoying it. Sorry to hear you are not finding the Interludes enjoyable. They help give the town of Derry some history and depth. And they flesh out Mike's character a bit, since young Mike doesn't link up with the other 6 kids till later, and we do not see grown Mike experience the calling of Derry and the joys of nostalgia and terrors of the return that the other 6 (well, 5) have. I also happen to think that is some of King's finest writing.

[ErHaO]

Yeah I definitely see recurrent themes in It. As I've read King spontaneously and out of order, I don't know if they began to appear here or in the other novels first, but it's definitely noticeable. I'm hooked with the main storyline, but I'm currently on the second interlude and those are a little bit dull. I can't wait to get back to the actual story with kids or now adults returning to Derry.

I read them all in a go. Wasn't planning to, but I guess it shows I really like the series. As I said, I think these books differ enough to prevent it from becoming monotonous. For me troubled blood is at the top by a wide margin because I think all the elements are good (the main case, the sidecases, character development, the variety of themes etc.). Career, Silkworm and Cuckoo are about equal for different reasons. I slightly prefer Career of Evil out of those three. Lethal White was solid but nothing more for me, I agree some editing would've/could've made it better.

I felt the characters—all of them—were just done perfectly believable in The Silkworm. I guess publishing industry was way more well-known to Rowling than, say, the music industry, and I felt she excelled at bringing it to life in that novel. That, and I thought she nailed the relationship between Strike and Robin in that book (she also did it in Troubled Blood, which is largely why it's my second favourite book in the series and why I stayed up until 5 AM on my vacation in another city to read a couple more chapters before going to sleep).

I should re-read Career of Evil, as I don't remember much from it, but given my to-read list, my upcoming trip to a bookshop on Friday, and my to-reread list, I doubt I'll get to it anytime soon.

I agree with you that the characters in The Silkworm were believable. For me it was just a matter of preference in terms of setting and characters, rather than a critique on how well it was written. In terms of structure it is probably the closest to a conventional whodunit and it was done very well. I honestly was not on point with my theories, but it made sense and some clues were obvious in hindsight.

[masterthes]

If you're a fan of historical fiction, I definitely advise you give Kane and Abel a try. Will be giving the next book a try in the near future for sure.



On to my next read Secrets of the Force, the newest oral history from Edward Gross and Mark A. Altman

[masterthes]

Okay, so besides that Star Wars book, I'm also going to finally dip my toe in Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

[masterthes]

Ninth House got my seal of approval. Will definitely continue on with the series. Now, finally getting the chance to read Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid, see if she can go three for three

[masterthes]

Now, finally getting the chance to read Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid, see if she can go three for three

I'm afraid it was a bit of a miss for me. Nowhere near as good as her last two. Next, expanding my nonfiction horizons and reading some baseball history with The Last Real Season by Mike Shropshire

[masterthes]

Valor by John Gwynne. Probably shouldn't have waited almost two months to continue the series, but I'm sure a lot of the stuff from the first book will come back to me

[Stadler]

If you're a fan of historical fiction, I definitely advise you give Kane and Abel a try. Will be giving the next book a try in the near future for sure.

Big fan of Kane and Abel.  Not all of Archer's work lives up to that, but that was a solid novel. 

[masterthes]

Valor was a miss for me unfortunately. Instead I ended up reading a novella Gwendy's Button Box by Stephen King and Richard Chizmar. I quite enjoyed it.



Now, reading X-Men Epic Collection Vol. 5: Second Genesis by Chris Claremont

[hefdaddy42]

Foundation by Isaac Asimov

[masterthes]

Gerald's Game by Stephen King

[Cool Chris]

Valor was a miss for me unfortunately.

I moderately enjoyed Malice, but not enough to read further.

Enjoy Gerald's Game !

[Evermind]

Finished It last week. Very strong effort by King, although I do think the book could've used some culling. I liked how he kept switching between kids and adults in the final part of the book. Overall probably one of my favourite King books.

Started The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang last Thursday. Quite a page-turner, it's likely I'll finish it this week.

[Kwyjibo]

... although I do think the book could've used some culling.

Couldn't that be said about all of King's books. 

[vtgrad]

Finished It last week. Very strong effort by King, although I do think the book could've used some culling. I liked how he kept switching between kids and adults in the final part of the book. Overall probably one of my favourite King books.

Started The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang last Thursday. Quite a page-turner, it's likely I'll finish it this week.

Nice to hear you enjoyed the final section of IT!  One of my personal favorite endings...

Starting The Road to Eleusis (Carl Ruck) and The Immortality Key (Brian Muraresku).

[Cool Chris]

Finished It last week. Very strong effort by King, although I do think the book could've used some culling. I liked how he kept switching between kids and adults in the final part of the book. Overall probably one of my favourite King books.

The last part of the book is indeed a wonderful intertwining of the Loser's final adventure as kids and as adults. He lost me a bit with the Turtle, but it is still a magnificent climax. And I would say the denouement (the Last Interlude and Epilogue) would probably still bring me to tears were I to read it now. I said goodbye to many friends as I was reading through It and Mike's final words, and Bill's thoughts about leaving Derry and not looking back, even if it means forgetting your childhood friends despite them always having a place inside your heart, were particularly poignant.

... although I do think the book could've used some culling.

Couldn't that be said about all of King's books. 

  I have said for years King is my favorite author, and while he hasn't blown me away with anything since 1998 (Bag of Bones) he still holds that title, based on much of his work prior to that. That being said, I feel much of his work the past decade or so hasn't suffered from as much bloat as he is often (rightly) accused of.

Murder on Black Swan Lane by Andrea Penrose. Not great but alright. Not going to read further in the series.

[Kwyjibo]

I've read everything up to and including Finders Keepers. I still enjoy most of his books, the last one that blew me away was 11/22/63 and my paperback version of that book has more than a 1000 pages.

[Evermind]

He lost me a bit with the Turtle

Yeah, what was up with that? Just felt a bit unnecessary I guess.

Started The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang last Thursday. Quite a page-turner, it's likely I'll finish it this week.

Had an extra hour to read today, finished this one, interesting book. The first part is almost ripping off The Name of the Wind, then it veers off in completely different direction. I liked it enough to read the sequel if I find it.

Next up, The Kite Runner by Khalid Hosseini