What are you reading? 2015 edition

[sabotai]

Just finished

Under Heaven - Guy Gavriel Kay

A novel set in a Chinese-like world (with very, very little "magic"). Kay is a great writer, but I felt this book was really lacking in plot. Not much happened. In fact, the first chapter did what I'm told you're not supposed to do (but I guess if you're a quality writer like Kay, you can get away with it), it was almost all exposition, and a lot of it. I thought the characters were well written, there was some action, some political intrigue once the story got going. I liked how many of the characters (and the culture in general) cared about poems and trying to create them. I enjoyed the book, but there were good stretches of time where I was pretty bored.

6 / 10

He published a 2nd novel, River of Stars, set 400 years in the future. It's on my to-read list, but I'll probably hold off on it for awhile.


Tried Reading (but gave up on for now)

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch, Gardens on the Moon by Steven Erikson and Prince of Thorns my Mark Lawrence

Not that I don't like them (Gardens on the Moon is pretty close to me not liking it, though), it's just that I didn't know what to expect from them. Sometimes it takes me starting a book a few times before it finally clicks and I breeze through it. A Game of Thrones took me, I think, 3 times starting it before I finally stuck with it to the end. I never really thought about it, but I guess I like to get a several chapter long preview of the book to give me an idea of what it is I'm going to read, then I put it back on the shelf for awhile until I'm ready to dive into it.


Starting Next (the next 3 on my list)

A Way of Kings - Brandon Sanderson
The Eye of the World - Robert Jordan (will be my 2nd time starting this book)
The Blade Itself - Joe Abercrombie (2nd time starting it)



And for non-fiction, I'm currently reading "Dividing The Spoils" (a book about how Alexander the Great's empire was carved up after his death, and the wars that followed.) and "The Imjin War", a book about Japan's invasion of Korea and China in the late 1500s.

[Peregrine]

I can't recommend the Lies of Locke Lamora series enough. Just really good books.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Peregrine

I can't recommend the Lies of Locke Lamora series enough. Just really good books.

It's a terrific series (so far).

[Landshark44]

im a big fan of "the first law trilogy".....

"the blade itself", by joe abercrombie is the first volume. good read. the audible version is great, as well....

[Vince, Pt. II]

Agreed on Abercrombie.

[The Jackal]

Read a bunch of David Gemmell books earlier this year, most of the Drenai Saga and also the Rigante series. Just finished The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss and it was very good, about to start the 2nd book there.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Peregrine

I can't recommend the Lies of Locke Lamora series enough. Just really good books.

Thirded.

Finished reading Words of Radiance (#2 in Sanderson's Stormlight series). Gonna try either Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & M. Norrell or The Friends of Eddie Coyle. If it's good enough for Elmore Leonard I'll give it a shot.

[Glengoyne]

Based on previous versions of this list I've now read virtually everything by Joe Abercrombie and Brandon Sanderson. All well worth it.

Recently I've been reading the Iron Druid series by Kevin Hearne. It is a teen series that I'm checked into for my daughter, and really pretty good for something targeting teen boys. It certainly doesn't take itself too seriously, and is pretty darned fun on top of that.

I'm also wrapping up the Locke Lamora series. The third book doesn't seem quite as successful as the first two, but the series is great.

Anthony Ryan's Blood Song and follow up, the Tower Lord are really good with the third installment due later this year.

[OldGiants]

The Locke Lamora books are excellent, but they are all 'caper' books rather than traditional fantasy stuff. Movies like THE ITALIAN JOB (more the Bennie Hill one) and the Pink Panther series resemble these books, rather than Tolkien.

[MacroGuru]

I have several friends that are Authors and are in a writers group with Brandon and as I am working on the finishing touches of my book I will be presenting it to this writers group for critiquing.

With that said, I have yet to read any of Brandon's work although I do have Way of Kings and should read it.

[Glengoyne]

Originally Posted by OldGiants

The Locke Lamora books are excellent, but they are all 'caper' books rather than traditional fantasy stuff. Movies like THE ITALIAN JOB (more the Bennie Hill one) and the Pink Panther series resemble these books, rather than Tolkien.

This is true. The Lamora books come with a side of fantasy. For those looking for Tolkienesque world building, I think Sanderson does a great job with that, and no where better than in the way of kings.

For an author that is just starting starting out I think Anthony Ryan does a pretty good job of this as well in Blood Song.

[sabotai]

Originally Posted by MacroGuru

I have several friends that are Authors and are in a writers group with Brandon and as I am working on the finishing touches of my book I will be presenting it to this writers group for critiquing.

Lucky bastard.

I have sometimes thought, considering there seems to be some people on FOFC that dream of being writers, that an FOFC writer's group would be a good thing to try. There's one writer's group in my area, but it has a ton of people. I'd prefer something small.

Along with a dozen other things, giving writing a serious go has been on my to-do list since high school. I wrote a lot in high school and college. I even submitted some short stories to Analog once upon a time, all rejected of course. They were shit and I stopped writing. I don't think I did because of the rejections. More like I just got distracted by other things. Programming, World of Warcraft, etc. and I just never went back to it except for a few failed attempts at NaNoWriMo.

[MacroGuru]

Originally Posted by sabotai

I have sometimes thought, considering there seems to be some people on FOFC that dream of being writers, that an FOFC writer's group would be a good thing to try. There's one writer's group in my area, but it has a ton of people. I'd prefer something small.

I have thought of this myself. I had the domain name Owsy.com at one time (Online Writers SYmpodium) and was going to get it going but life intervened. I am living with my Muse and she has been an amazing woman that has encouraged me to move forward with a lot of things in my life which I have,.

[The Jackal]

I've had Way of Kings on my shelf since I finished Wheel of Time, I'll get to it sooner or later. Got into that David Gemmell mood and then read the Shining and a couple Philip K. Dick books. The latter writes some trippy stuff, man.

Books in question were Ubik and The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch.

[The Jackal]

Also, I would love a writer's group. I've always fancied myself writing at some point, but really haven't written much in the past decade.

[Marmel]

I'm about halfway through Neal Stephenson's new book, Seveneves. I've heard of him before but this is the first time reading him and it is great stuff. Sci-Fi, but not in the time travel, faster than light, wormhole type of stuff. He takes what we know and expands on what might be possible. It gets awfully technical in places and I have a hard time visualizing "Izzy" and the arknets, but so far I highly recommend this.

Anybody who has read him have any suggestions on which other books of his are worth it?

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Marmel

I'm about halfway through Neal Stephenson's new book, Seveneves. I've heard of him before but this is the first time reading him and it is great stuff. Sci-Fi, but not in the time travel, faster than light, wormhole type of stuff. He takes what we know and expands on what might be possible. It gets awfully technical in places and I have a hard time visualizing "Izzy" and the arknets, but so far I highly recommend this.

Anybody who has read him have any suggestions on which other books of his are worth it?

Cryptonomicon was the first one I read and still probably my favorite (heavy into code breaking around WWII era), and the Baroque Cycle was good. The Diamond Age (and I'm guessing Snow Crash although I haven't read it) are his earliest and most accessible books, I liked Diamond Age although the ending fell apart IMO. REAMDE was solid, although a bit less unique and more similar to a Clancy novel than his others. Really the only one I've read and didn't like was Anathem - too slow and I like the sci-fi speculations from his other books much more than the Greek philosophy it went in depth on.

[Fidatelo]

Originally Posted by The Jackal

Just finished The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss and it was very good, about to start the 2nd book there.

I just finished Name of the Wind last night also. Great book! I felt it went a bit 'Harry Potter' in the middle section but it pulled back from that nicely and finished super strong. I'm waiting for some friends of mine to finish up before I start the second book with them but I look forward to it.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Snow Crash is a book I literally put down ten pages in because I couldn't handle the ridiculous lingo. This was when I was 27 or so. I forced myself to read it last year, and I'm glad I did. Once you get past the over the top lingo, it's pretty great.

[Chief Rum]

This probably speaks more to me personally than the general quality of the book, but I actually really enjoyed Anathem. I thought the world build was terrific and very intricate, but Stephenson did a good job of showing the human element within what was a fairly strict ruled fictional world.

The next level dimensional math in the third act, though, is ridiculously complicated, and I wasn't sure I really got it (although I understood how it ended). If you want a book which will challenge you, Anathem is a good one to check out.

I actually didn't much like what I read of the Baroque Cycle. Cryptonomicon is excellent; I highly recommend that one. Readme was solid.

[Alan T]

Looking at my Amazon account, I started Steven Erikson's "The Malazan Book of the Fallen" series exactly 1 year ago today, purchasing book 1 on May 27, 2014. Currently half way through book 9, with 1 more to go.


I really enjoyed the first few books, but as the series has gotten longer and new characters/species were entered in the mix, it has started feeling a bit long in the tooth for me.

At this point, I want to finish the last book and a half to see how it all ends and then figure out the next series I want to read. (likely another fantasy series of some kind, I really love Tolkien, George RR Martin and Robert Jordan's series).

[Grover]

Originally Posted by Alan T

At this point, I want to finish the last book and a half to see how it all ends and then figure out the next series I want to read. (likely another fantasy series of some kind, I really love Tolkien, George RR Martin and Robert Jordan's series).

I highly recommend Robin Hobb's series.

[Landshark44]

Originally Posted by Alan T

Looking at my Amazon account, I started Steven Erikson's "The Malazan Book of the Fallen" series exactly 1 year ago today, purchasing book 1 on May 27, 2014. Currently half way through book 9, with 1 more to go.


I really enjoyed the first few books, but as the series has gotten longer and new characters/species were entered in the mix, it has started feeling a bit long in the tooth for me.

At this point, I want to finish the last book and a half to see how it all ends and then figure out the next series I want to read. (likely another fantasy series of some kind, I really love Tolkien, George RR Martin and Robert Jordan's series).

i'd suggest the "first law trilogy" by abercrombie

or "wool" by hugh howey

[rowech]

Originally Posted by Marmel

I'm about halfway through Neal Stephenson's new book, Seveneves. I've heard of him before but this is the first time reading him and it is great stuff. Sci-Fi, but not in the time travel, faster than light, wormhole type of stuff. He takes what we know and expands on what might be possible. It gets awfully technical in places and I have a hard time visualizing "Izzy" and the arknets, but so far I highly recommend this.

Anybody who has read him have any suggestions on which other books of his are worth it?

Crytonomicon is one of my favorite books of all time. I've tried to do The Baroque Cycle twice now and failed both times about 250 pages in.

[rowech]

Can somebody recommend some sort of sci-fi book where some sort of society finds the remains of a past civilization and they have to piece something together from those fragments/clues? I know that's very vague.

[The Jackal]

Cryptonomicon and Snow Crash are both excellent books.

[The Jackal]

Originally Posted by Fidatelo

I just finished Name of the Wind last night also. Great book! I felt it went a bit 'Harry Potter' in the middle section but it pulled back from that nicely and finished super strong. I'm waiting for some friends of mine to finish up before I start the second book with them but I look forward to it.

Getting close to half way through the second book, still very enjoyable.

[tarcone]

I'm reading Dune..
It's been years since I read it.. I have a game based on the theme coming next week, so I thought I would read it and get in the universe..

[lungs]

Been on a Phillip K. Dick kick lately. Just finished VALIS, that was friggin strange.

[Landshark44]

Originally Posted by rowech

Can somebody recommend some sort of sci-fi book where some sort of society finds the remains of a past civilization and they have to piece something together from those fragments/clues? I know that's very vague.

"Wool", is about a future society that is living underground in manmade silos. They are trying to figure out "why"...

Not sure if this grabs you, but it's an excellent trilogy..

[ISiddiqui]

I just started Station Eleven, which is a book about what happens after a flu pandemic kills most of the world population. A fantastic sci-fi novel so far.

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

I just started Station Eleven, which is a book about what happens after a flu pandemic kills most of the world population. A fantastic sci-fi novel so far.

Man, I already have such anxiety when one of my family get sick with fears that I will get sick too. I think if I read this, it would end me.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

I just started Station Eleven, which is a book about what happens after a flu pandemic kills most of the world population. A fantastic sci-fi novel so far.

Does it devolve into a good versus evil parable? Stephen King already did that.

Seriously, though, love good scifi. I'll check it out.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by lungs

Been on a Phillip K. Dick kick lately. Just finished VALIS, that was friggin strange.

You said dick kick.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by rowech

Can somebody recommend some sort of sci-fi book where some sort of society finds the remains of a past civilization and they have to piece something together from those fragments/clues? I know that's very vague.

It is only a small element of the story, but Alastair Reynold's Revelation Space has a little bit of that.

Incidentally (to anyone reading along), Reynold's Revelation Space trilogy is excellent, for anyone into hard scifi. He's very good at world building and has some really expansive ideas about where humanity is headed.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

Does it devolve into a good versus evil parable? Stephen King already did that.

Seriously, though, love good scifi. I'll check it out.

It's actually about far more than good vs. evil, to quote why it won the Arthur C. Clarke award:

According to the Guardian, Clarke jury chair Andrew M. Butler explained the choice: “While many post-apocalypse novels focus on the survival of humanity, Station Eleven focuses instead on the survival of our culture, with the novel becoming an elegy for the hyper-globalised present.”

Station Eleven Wins This Year's Arthur C. Clarke Award!

[Chief Rum]

Cool, even more reason to check it out!

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

This probably speaks more to me personally than the general quality of the book, but I actually really enjoyed Anathem. I thought the world build was terrific and very intricate, but Stephenson did a good job of showing the human element within what was a fairly strict ruled fictional world.

The next level dimensional math in the third act, though, is ridiculously complicated, and I wasn't sure I really got it (although I understood how it ended). If you want a book which will challenge you, Anathem is a good one to check out.

I actually didn't much like what I read of the Baroque Cycle. Cryptonomicon is excellent; I highly recommend that one. Readme was solid.

Yes, I wouldn't say Anathem is a bad book, just not for me and not something I would recommend as a Stephenson intro to anyone - Cryptonomicon is clearly that.

It's also been a while since I read it, but I thought it went a little off the rails when

Spoiler

you had what, the 10,000 year monks chanting to prevent an asteroid from hitting earth?

I do agree I really liked the world build and the more grounded parts.

[Chief Rum]

Haha yeah true. When you say it like that, it sounds ridiculous. Of course, Stephenson says that kind of stuff in a way that either has some weird logic that you just accept or says it in such a way that you simply can't understand, so you just accept it lol.

[OldGiants]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

Cryptonomicon was the first one I read and still probably my favorite (heavy into code breaking around WWII era), and the Baroque Cycle was good. The Diamond Age (and I'm guessing Snow Crash although I haven't read it) are his earliest and most accessible books, I liked Diamond Age although the ending fell apart IMO. REAMDE was solid, although a bit less unique and more similar to a Clancy novel than his others. Really the only one I've read and didn't like was Anathem - too slow and I like the sci-fi speculations from his other books much more than the Greek philosophy it went in depth on.

I just started Seveneves last night and it is terrific so far. I'm feeling the Cryptonomicon vibe of excitement for me again. Agree with the rest of this and add I've read Snow Crash multiple times.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

Haha yeah true. When you say it like that, it sounds ridiculous. Of course, Stephenson says that kind of stuff in a way that either has some weird logic that you just accept or says it in such a way that you simply can't understand, so you just accept it lol.

I feel like when it's futuristic or technobabble he might be just as wrong... But I'll never admit I don't understand it haha and just hope I can learn a little.

Y'all do have me jazzed to read Snow Crash and Sevenevenevenves. Still trying to read Jonathan Strange and M. Norrell, and I feel like it'll be good eventually, but not at 30 pages every 2 days... And I just don't have the time to curl up for a day on the couch and get into it.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Thanks to everyone who recommended The Lies of Locke Lamora - I blasted through it this weekend and it was fantastic.

Recently read Catch-22, The Once and Future King and Dave Eggers's The Circle for the first time as well. Catch-22 was amazing. The Once and Future King was alternately incredible, fascinating and boring as crap. I'm very glad to have read it, but there were definitely portions that were just a slog to get through. The Circle was quick, fun and a little chilling...but I was a little disappointed that if you've read 1984 you essentially don't need to bother reading the book.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Peregrine

I can't recommend the Lies of Locke Lamora series enough. Just really good books.

I do like his books. But its like GRRM, it'll probably never be finished at this pace (but apparently there's some sort of medical thing).

I also like Sanderson (original Mistborn) and enjoying his Way of Kings series so far. Its a little infuriating that I see a bunch of other books come out as we are waiting on the third. But unlike GRRM and Lynch, he has proven he writes at a good pace.

I slogged through the first book of the Eye of the World and I found it tedious. Must be me because I now many others think Jordan is great. I am planning to read the last book of the series (Sanderson wrote it) but its low on my priority.

Abercrombie's books are okay. There's something about his writing style or world that I find a little boring.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by sabotai

I have sometimes thought, considering there seems to be some people on FOFC that dream of being writers, that an FOFC writer's group would be a good thing to try. There's one writer's group in my area, but it has a ton of people. I'd prefer something small.

I dream of being a fantasy writer. I do get discouraged everytime I read novels by my favorite authors -- how can I write even remotely as well as that?

However, I've been reading a lot of indie authors on Amazon and it gives me hope. Most are bad (or at least I can write as well) and some are surprisingly good.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Fidatelo

I just finished Name of the Wind last night also. Great book! I felt it went a bit 'Harry Potter' in the middle section but it pulled back from that nicely and finished super strong. I'm waiting for some friends of mine to finish up before I start the second book with them but I look forward to it.

Rothfuss and Hobb are in my top 5 list of authors.

Hobb had a couple eh trilogies that I could do without and she started inserting gay characters in her books recently which was uncomfortable reading for me but overall I really enjoy her.

IMO there's not that much action in either's books but the story telling and character development are really great.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by sabotai

Lucky bastard.

I have sometimes thought, considering there seems to be some people on FOFC that dream of being writers, that an FOFC writer's group would be a good thing to try. There's one writer's group in my area, but it has a ton of people. I'd prefer something small.

I've personally never been a fan of online writers' groups. IMO for a group to truly be successful, it needs the face to face interaction - there's much more accountability that way, and nonverbal reactions are often as important as the verbal ones.

I've found what happens with online-based groups is that there's this initial rush of enthusiasm, and then it fades away as people get busy with other shit, and forget to read/respond to submissions. For this to work, it'd need a strict schedule, a maximum page length per submission, and no more than two writers submitting that maximum page length per week.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Edward64

I do like his books. But its like GRRM, it'll probably never be finished at this pace (but apparently there's some sort of medical thing).

I looked into Lynch abit when he was having his issues, and it does appear he is past that. They're saying the next book could be out later this year or early 2016. All indications publically is that Lynch is back up to speed. Time will tell, though.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Edward64

I also like Sanderson (original Mistborn) and enjoying his Way of Kings series so far. Its a little infuriating that I see a bunch of other books come out as we are waiting on the third. But unlike GRRM and Lynch, he has proven he writes at a good pace.

You kidding me? Words of Radiance came out, what, a year ago? And he provides frequent updates (that show actual progress) on his website.

Plus technically half those books are in the same universe and are all part of the same 'epic series'.

[Vince, Pt. II]

So I've been reading a TON lately. Snap analysis:

Finished the three currently released books of The Gentlemen Bastards series. Absolutely cannot praise them enough. The Lies of Locke Lamora is probably already in my top 5 books of all time. The next two didn't have quite the effect on me the first did, but I loved all three of them an awful lot. I will be picking up The Thorn of Emberlain as soon as it is available.

I also finished off The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb. I really enjoyed the first book, but the next two didn't do much for me. I enjoyed the series as a whole, and had no trouble reading them quickly (if I'm truly not enjoying something, I tend to read much slower)...but I felt it was lacking something that I can't quite put my finger on. It may well be that I simply enjoyed Scott Lynch's series so much that reading this concurrently made me enjoy it less.

On several recommendations from here, I read Station Eleven. I was enjoying the hell out of it until about halfway through, then it completely lost steam for me. I don't know if it was because I totally pegged the ending or what, but I thought it could have been so much better. Overall a good book that I'm glad I read, but the hype and awards seemed a little much for me.

The Martian, on the other hand, was phenomenal. I don't remember the last time I laughed out loud so many different times while reading a book. I feel like this is a book Michael Chrichton could have written if he had a wicked sense of humor and knew how to pen an ending. Just a fantastic blend of technical wizardry, adrenaline and black humor.

Finally, I finished Ready Player One tonight. I bought this what feels like 7 years ago (published in 2011, so obviously not true) and loaned it to a friend who never gave it back to me. I bought another copy and I'm glad I did. A fun little romp of a read, this wasn't classic literature by any means. It was a fun story with a bunch of nostalgia and anyone who is a fan of 80's pop culture and video games will get a huge kick out of it.

I think it might be time to take another crack at David Foster Wallace after all this light sci-fi/fantasy fare.

[Groundhog]

I read quite a bit on my travels around Central America.

Hyperion - Dan Simmons
I thought this was an OK book, not quite what I expected. Quite clever the way the stories of the different characters weaved together.

Song of Kali - Dan Simmons
Holy shit this was a good read. I expected it to be Sci Fi in the vein of Hyperion, but man, this was some fantastic horror. I don't think I could ever travel to India after reading this.

The Gunslinger, The Drawing of the Three, The Wastelands - Stephen King
My mom has been trying to get me to read these for years. The Gunslinger dragged a bit in places which isn't surprising given when he wrote it, but I loved books 2 and 3 so I'm glad I stuck with it. Fantasy with a very King-twist. I love the references to his other books, too.

I attempted to start The Blade Itself by Abercrombie because I keep trying to force myself to read/enjoy fantasy, and this was recommended to me by someone who said it was a bit darker and more in the ASoIaF-mold. I made it about 10% through, but I just couldn't get into it.