[October] What are you reading?

Ebon Shar · Oct 6, 2012

Richards said:
I picked up about a dozen of the Destroyer novels for a dime apiece. Remo Williams, Chiun, Sinanju - they're as enjoyable (in a mindless fun sort of way) as they were a few decades ago when I read them voraciously.

Johnathan

I got pretty heavy into the Mack Bolan books in my youth. Same mindless violence. Each book has essentially the same plot, just more and creative ways for Mack to kill people.

Nellisir · Oct 7, 2012

I finished Soulless a few days ago, and then read Daybreak Zero, book two of a post-apocalyptic trilogy by steven barnes. Both good books. I bought Ready Player One and started it, but left it at home yesterday, so it'll be a few days before I can finish it.

Stouthart · Oct 8, 2012

Nellisir said:
...I bought Ready Player One and started it, but left it at home yesterday, so it'll be a few days before I can finish it.

If this is your first time reading this, I believe you are in for a treat. I loved this book. It's one of the few where I finished it the first time and I immediately turned back to the first page for a second read... and then did the same for a third. Yes, I read this book three times in a row.

Also, finished The Hammer and the Blade. Moving on to Dead City by Joe McKinney- I'm a sucker for zombie fiction. See if it can compare to some of my genre favs- Brian Keene's zombie novels and the Day by Day Armageddon novels by J. L. Bourne.

Stouthart

Elodan · Oct 9, 2012

Fished Deathwish by Rob Thurman; the 4th Cal Leandros novel. Thought is was an improvement on the 3rd but feel that the series is losing steam.

About 100 pages into Citadels of the Lost: The Annals of Drakhis Book 2 by Tracy Hickman. Picks up right were book one left off. Fun read so far.

Also picked up a bunch of volume ones of DCs new 52 that interested me:
* Superman: Action Comics. My favorite of the bunch. Interesting to see a somewhat powered down Superman.
* Batman. Haven't read a Batman story in a while. Really liked it although I felt the story dragged a little at one point.
* Superboy. Good take on a familiar story.
* Batgirl. Villains were a letdown but I liked Barbara's internal struggles while trying to reclaim her cowl and her new roommate.

Stouthart · Oct 9, 2012

Elodan said:
Also picked up a bunch of volume ones of DCs new 52 that interested me:
* Superman: Action Comics. My favorite of the bunch. Interesting to see a somewhat powered down Superman.
* Batman. Haven't read a Batman story in a while. Really liked it although I felt the story dragged a little at one point.

I am thoroughly enjoying both of these titles- especially Grant Morrison's Action Comics.

I would recommend you check out Batman, Inc. If you decide to, start with the pre-New 52 volumes (i think there are two.) They lead directly into the new series that just started a few months ago.

Krug · Oct 9, 2012

Liked Behind the Beautiful Forevers. Brutal look at the lives of slum dwellers in Mumbai.

Finished Guy Delisle's Jerusalem, which I didn't like as much as his Burma Chronicles.

Next up is Colson Whitehead's literary zombie novel Zone One. Heard him speak recently at a festival in Bali, and was intrigued.

Someone · Oct 9, 2012

Just finished "El enredo de la bolsa y la vida", fourth in the series written by Eduardo Mendoza about a destitute felon forced by various circumstances to solve crimes in Barcelona from the late 70s (first book) to now (fourth book).

As always, a hilarious and excellent read. I recommend it if you can read Spanish. The other books are "El misterio de la cripta embrujada", "El laberinto de las aceitunas" and "La aventura del tocador de señoras".

Nellisir · Oct 10, 2012

Finished Ready Player One last night; read Marsbound today.

I'll be blunt: I thought RP1 was a decent freshman effort, but lacked character depth, any really interesting plot twists, and the shoehorning in of current popular geek culture topics and personalities was annoying (Cory Doctorow and Wil Wheaton as official elected leaders of the Internet? Really?). The token black female lesbian was so token as to possibly be intentional. And the setting was...thin.

That sounds fairly harsh, but it wasn't terrible, just...average. A solid C+ or B-, maybe. Definitely not Neuromancer, Snow Crash, or When Gravity Fails, despite obvious similarities to the first two.

Marsbound was better.

Razjah · Oct 10, 2012

I'm reading A Game of Thrones because I am late to the Song of Ice and Fire series, very late. Really enjoying it so far, and about half way.

I'm also working on Machiavelli's The Prince. I just want to read it and I don't have a great reason.

I've blasted through book 1 of the Dresden Files, in one day, and want to find the rest of the series.

When I finish A Game of Thrones I think I will move onto Dracula, the original Bram Stoker work. I need to wait until Christmas to stock up on Dresden Files and the SOIAF series.