The Currently Reading Thread v. A Clash of Kings

[masterthes]

So, here's my final wrap up for the year

December (12)
Arm of the Sphinx by Josiah Bancroft 11/30 - 12/3 ****
Saga, Vol. 7 by Brian K. Vaughan 12/4 *****
Saga, Vol. 8 by Brian K. Vaughan 12/4 *****
Saga, Vol. 9 by Brian K. Vaughan 12/4 *****
The Hod King by Josiah Bancroft 12/4 - 12/8 ****
The Patience of a Dead Man by Michael Clark 12/9 - 12/11 ***
The Storyteller by Dave Grohl 12/11 - 12/13 *****
The Fall of Babel by Josiah Bancroft 12/13 - 12/20 ****
Krampus, The Yule Lord by Brom 12/20 - 12/21 ****
Chasing the Boogeyman by Richard Chizmar 12/21 - 12/22 ***
Wild Minds: The Artists and Rivalries That Inspired the Golden Age of Animation by Reid Mitenbuler 12/23 - 12/26 ****
All About Me!: My Remarkable Life in Show Business by Mel Brooks 12/26 - 12/28 *****

171 books read this year. Didn't read as much as last year, but the quality was a little bit better, most 5 star reads I've ever had. Not expected to read that much next year with my Wheel of Time read through going on, but we shall see

[Cool Chris]

Yeah, I don't know how to say it well, but it felt like Reacher didn't do much of his MP-style investigating here, he just followed a few bread crumbs to get to the goal line, which, for me at least, wasn't all that fulfilling when he got there.

Was that a trivia question to challenge the Reacher fans here about the one novel where he doesn't kill someone?  It does seem the killings are becoming more and more indiscriminate.

[Podaar]

Not expected to read that much next year with my Wheel of Time read through going on, but we shall see

Oh, boy. I wish you luck and a better experience than I had. I read through the entire thing last Sept - October and man, was that a slog. I was determined to get through it to find out how Sanderson changed the equation, but I ended up having to get the audiobooks for 9-12 because I literally couldn't sit and read them without drifting off or losing track of the story and have to start a chapter over. At least with the audiobooks I could work on the house, or yard, and just let the story sink in by osmosis. It really helped.

[Sacul]

Naoki Urasawa 20th Century Boys

Just finished the first volume of the kazenban edition. Really good so far. Already loved Monster and Pluto so am quite eager to see how it goes from here.

Done with the second volume, great stuff. 9 more to go, this is gonna take a while since not all of them have been published here yet

Time to resume Dune then.

[hefdaddy42]

Michael Connelly - The Dark Hour

[masterthes]

The Answer Is...Reflections on My Life by Alex Trebek

[masterthes]

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

[Kwyjibo]

The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice

Storywise I enjoyed this but Rice's writing style sometimes is a chore to get through.

On to The Fist Of God by Frederick Forsyth

[masterthes]

Along with finishing the Wheel of Time, I will be attempting to read one completed trilogy per month, and to start off, I have selected the Powder Mage Trilogy by Brian McClellan

[hefdaddy42]

Five Decembers by James Kestrel

[Evermind]

Forgot to post on Monday, but I'm reading The Burning God by R. F. Kuang as I want to know how the trilogy ends

[ErHaO]

The Redbreast - Jo Nesbo

I loved the central mystery/plot. My only criticism, which is a bit of a pet peeve of mine, is that another character met outside the context of the case was somewhat randomly closely related to the central murder plot. I did not feel this was necessary but in the end it is not a major flaw. Slow start but well worth the read.

Nemesis - Jo Nesbo

I was not impressed with this one. I like the basic premise and the two cases, but it really feels like he had two plotlines and stitched them together by writing coincidental connections between characters and events. It is a bit like that pet peeve I had with the first but now it is integral to both major plotlines. I hope the next novel abstains from this approach to writing.



Overall the Dutch translations of these books don't feel like they are particularly well done, but that has nothing to do with Nesbo's work.

I have just finished The Redeemer and The Devil's Star before that. These books were written waaay better than the two books prior in my opinion. Especially the characters and dialouges were vastly superior. The Redbreast had a fantastic concept and a good central plot, which made it worth the read. Nemesis is on a way lower level. But the two books following that were much more compelling to me, I am fully on board with the rest of this series and perhaps other Nesbo works (but have little intesest in reading the first two Harry Hole novels).

Naoki Urasawa 20th Century Boys

Just finished the first volume of the kazenban edition. Really good so far. Already loved Monster and Pluto so am quite eager to see how it goes from here.

Done with the second volume, great stuff. 9 more to go, this is gonna take a while since not all of them have been published here yet

Time to resume Dune then.

Started 20th Century Boys when I was a teen in like 2007 or something. Lost track because the physical Dutch translations were expensive for a high school student. And they came at a very slow rate. No idea where the series is now. I do remember loving it. Maybe I should track down the series and try it again. I own 8 books (are those volumes?) And what is a kazenban edition? I know little of manga in general, not even sure how I ended up getting some parts of this series.

[Sacul]

20th Century Boys ended in 2006, and a few years ago they began to republish it as a "perfect edition" (kazenban), like this. Dunno if it's received the same treatment in Dutch, but you can probably still track down the remaining volumes on eBay or similar for the edition you've got.

Speaking of it, I'm almost done with the third volume. Damn this is great so far.

[ErHaO]

20th Century Boys ended in 2006, and a few years ago they began to republish it as a "perfect edition" (kazenban), like this. Dunno if it's received the same treatment in Dutch, but you can probably still track down the remaining volumes on eBay or similar for the edition you've got.

Speaking of it, I'm almost done with the third volume. Damn this is great so far.

Can't find anything on google, I assume they never finished the Dutch translations. But in general Dutch adult people don't care for anything translated (except for novels), so that would not surprise me.

But google is giving me prices and if anything, I will read it digitally, if there is a legit way of doing that.

[masterthes]

Done with the Powder Mage trilogy, I'll definitely give the follow up series a try some day. Now reading, Here We Go Again: My Life in Television by Betty White

[masterthes]

Two thumbs up for the Betty White book, now back to The Wheel of Time with The Great Hunt

[Evermind]

Forgot to post on Monday, but I'm reading The Burning God by R. F. Kuang as I want to know how the trilogy ends

Eh, okay I guess? The second book was my favourite in the trilogy for sure.

Next up, The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman

[Podaar]

Leviathan Falls - James S.A. Corey

[hefdaddy42]

Five Decembers by James Kestrel

Just finished this yesterday.  It was SO GOOD.  A crime story, but to reduce it that simple description seems wrong.  Written in the style of a noir, and set during the time from just before the startof WWII to just after its end.  Just fantastic, and I can't recommend it highly enough.



On to God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert.

[Kwyjibo]

Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill

[SchecterShredder]

Infectés by Marc-Andre Pilon

This was a random pull from the library shelf.  So far as i can tell it's a teen zombie novel. Interesting that this is the first french Canadian book I've read since high school. All the others to this point were English books translated to popular French (France). We were always told in my french immersion school that Quebecois french was different than popular french, but this is almost shocking. And the english-french hybrid slang used by the characters is hard to follow. 

[Sacul]

20th Century Boys ended in 2006, and a few years ago they began to republish it as a "perfect edition" (kazenban), like this. Dunno if it's received the same treatment in Dutch, but you can probably still track down the remaining volumes on eBay or similar for the edition you've got.

Speaking of it, I'm almost done with the third volume. Damn this is great so far.

Can't find anything on google, I assume they never finished the Dutch translations. But in general Dutch adult people don't care for anything translated (except for novels), so that would not surprise me.

But google is giving me prices and if anything, I will read it digitally, if there is a legit way of doing that.

The closest I could find was a German translation . I think you could get the English edition from volume 4 or 5 onwards. Sadly I don't know if there even is a legit digital version :/

[masterthes]

Getting into my first horror of the year with In the Hills Above the Gristmill by Kalvin Ellis

[Evermind]

Next up, The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman

Man, I don't like this at all. I'll finish the book as I'm 2/3 through it but this is somewhat of a disappointment.

[masterthes]

The Maleficent Seven by Carmen Johnston

[masterthes]

this was awesome. My favorite book of the month so far. Anyway, I want to eventually read the Rebirth run of Superman, but I saw I had to do a bit of homework, so I ended up reading Convergence by Jeff King, Lois and Clark by Dan Jurgens, and The Final Days of Superman by Peter J. Tomasi. The latter two I thought were excellent, Convergence less so. I'm tentatively looking to start the Rebirth run next weekend. For right now, I'm looking to squeeze in one more book for the month with Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie

[chknptpie]

Enjoyed The Name of the Wind, looking forward to the rest of the story. I always like to look up fan art after reading sci fi or fantasy and there were some GREAT ones for this book out there, almost matched my imagination perfectly.

[Spiritus]

Well enjoy waiting for the 3rd part.  I gave up waiting once 10 years passed.  not gonna give Rothfuss another penny.

[Podaar]

That's a bit harsh don't you think? The poor man has lost his muse, and may never get it back. Can you imagine how that feels? To be that talented at writing and to loose it? Wow.

Anyway, both The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man's Fear are well worth the time to read, even though it's likely that the story won't continue.

[Spiritus]

I don't think so. I don't know anything about him personally, or his troubles. I just kept waiting and waiting and gave up on this series.  Sucks he lost his talent or passion if that is what happened. Though it must say a lot about how good his work was that I feel like this and not getting to read more from the man.
Hey, he could always get Sanderson to finish it. We would have a final chapter by spring. 

[Evermind]

I think Rothfuss has openly admitted he had depression. I understand both sides; I understand people who are frustrated he hasn't published the third book yet, I also understand people who are defending him. When The Doors of Stone comes out, I'll read it. But in the meantime, there's a lot of stuff to read and catch on.

Next up, The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman

Man, I don't like this at all. I'll finish the book as I'm 2/3 through it but this is somewhat of a disappointment.

This was, as the author would put it, shyte. I'm sorry but I didn't like it at all.

Now rereading The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith

[masterthes]

Here's my January wrap up

January (12)

The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan 12/29/21 - 1/5 ****
The Answer Is...Reflections on My Life by Alex Trebek 1/5 - 1/6 ****
Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan 1/8 - 1/12 ****
The Crimson Campaign by Brian McClellan 1/13 - 1/16 ****
The Autumn Republic by Brian McClellan 1/16 - 1/19 ****
Here We Go Again: My Life in Television by Betty White 1/19 - 1/20 *****
The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan 1/20 - 1/24 *****
In the Hills Above the Gristmill by Kalvin Ellis 1/24 - 1/26 ****
The Maleficent Seven by Cameron Johnston 1/26 - 1/28 *****
Convergence by Jeff King 1/28 - 1/29 ***
Lois and Clark by Dan Jurgens 1/29 *****
The Last Days of Superman by Peter J. Tomasi 1/29 *****

Death on the Nile didn't work for me. Had to DNF it, might try to catch the movie though. Anyway, time to be ambitious. On top of me continuing my read through of WoT with The Dragon Reborn, I am trying some late 18th Century Chinese lit with The Story of the Stone, Vol. 1: The Golden Days by Cao Xueqin

[Cool Chris]

Death on the Nile didn't work for me. Had to DNF it, might try to catch the movie though.

I highly enjoy Christie's stories, but they can tend to run together in my head sometimes. A while ago I made a list of all her books to check off the ones I read and catch up on the ones I hadn't. Many of the titles I couldn't swear to having read or not.

[hefdaddy42]

That's a bit harsh don't you think? The poor man has lost his muse, and may never get it back. Can you imagine how that feels? To be that talented at writing and to loose it? Wow.

Anyway, both The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man's Fear are well worth the time to read, even though it's likely that the story won't continue.

They're not worth it to me, until and unless there is word of the third book actually being written, much less published.

I've already been Martin'd once, I won't willingly be Martin'd again.

[Podaar]

IMO, they're so good that it's worth it.