What are you reading?

Keithy

Just keep swimming
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Reading Watership Down again, and just enjoyed another tale of El-ahrairah. These are wonderful little tales within tales that add so much to the book. It's here you almost feel like a rabbit!
 

Brightdreamer

Just Another Lazy Perfectionist
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Been about a month...

Last Finished:
Romancing Miss Right (The Reality Romance series, Book 2, Lizzie Shane, romance, on Kindle): On last season's reality dating show Marrying Mister Perfect, romance novelist Marcy was left "standing at the altar" when the star professed love for another woman - and, in truth, she was a bit relieved. She may write happily-ever-afters, but she's never opened herself to the emotional risk of pursuing one; she went on TV to boost book sales, and now that she's the star of this year's Romancing Miss Right, she might even hit the NYT bestseller list. Meanwhile, radio DJ Craig is looking to move into the more lucrative field of television, and his bad boy persona plus his stunning looks make him an ideal "villain" for the reality dating show. They may both be looking out for their own careers, but they forgot to give that script to their hearts...

Though there were some givens, this being a romance, it presents surprisingly well-rounded characters - even the side characters - creating a story that may hit familiar genre notes, but does so in a way that feels natural, not contrived. Enjoyable, with a well balanced romance and an interesting subplot involving an executive producer's rocky love life and how it affects the show.

Witchvine (The Rhyme of the Willow trilogy, Book 3, The Sullivan Brothers, MG/YA fantasy, on Kindle): The third installment of the trilogy sees brother Axton and sister Aniva further transformed (literally) by the plants of the vast, wild Garden. Aniva's uncontrollable "Blood Demon" infection has turned her into a weapon, used to slaughter half the council of one of the human "Lighthavens," and she's now on the run. Axton, meanwhile, has been infected with "witchvines" by the dreaded witch of the Garden, a mutation that will earn him sudden death if it's discovered, but which may provide him with his only means for saving his sister and finding their still-missing parents in this dangerous world.

This story moves fast, but has some issues. For one, it offers no recap, not even passing lines, to help the reader get back into the world after the gap between it and the previous installment; couple that with the many names and the rapid pace of events, and I was treading water for quite some time as I tried to reorient myself. I also found one of the revelations a bit of an eye-roller, not to mention the solution at the climax being too neat and forced, rendering many issues and potentials instantly moot. The wrap-up felt too quick and clean given the high price paid by many in the Garden during the story, and didn't quite fit the often-dark tone of the trilogy as a whole. While it was nice to have some closure, I felt a little disappointed.

Currently Reading:
Caliban's War (The Expanse series, Book 2, James S. A. Corey, sci-fi, in paperback): With the alien protomolecule weapon doing nobody-knows-what on uninhabited Venus, the solar system still reels from the aftershocks of its discovery and disastrous implementation on Eros station... and, now, it appears that something "escaped," sparking a disaster on Ganymede. Once again, James Holden and his crew find themselves up to their necks (and over their heads) in another interplanetary crisis...

While waiting for Amazon Prime to pick up Season 2 of the TV series (I'm still holding a bit of a grudge against the SyFy channel, plus I kinda like not having to sit through ads), I'm reading onward. It's an entertaining and fast-paced space opera, and if it feels a little forced or clunky here and there, it's enjoyable enough to overlook.
 

larocca

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The Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer

Thirty-nine years ago, this book totally kicked my butt in high school. But I've got a new (to me) translation into Modern English, by Burton Raffel, and it's pretty darned good. My local library also has some graphic novel versions, but I'm glad I didn't have to go that route.

[Update - The beginning and The Knight's Tale are phenomenal. Then I have some issues with Mr Chaucer. I stopped halfway through.]
 
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Yzjdriel

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Games Wizards Play - for the fifth time.

By no means whatsoever should anyone start reading a series by picking up Book Ten, however - so if you're curious, start with So You Want To Be A Wizard.
 

larocca

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My Italian Bulldozer by Alexander McCall Smith. The Kindle says I've read 38% but I'm still unsure about recommending it. However, I do recommend Precious and Grace by the same author.
 

iszevthere

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I am whipping through various books that look at American society through an introvert's point of view, and -this is me. I am okay.- One book, "Quiet Kids," talked about introverted kids in the American school system and I was so overwhelmed with -where was this book when I was a kid!?- that I set it down halfway through and started crying. I hope "Quiet Kids" becomes required reading for teachers.
 

Night_Writer

It's all symbolic.
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I'm reading Nica of Los Angeles (Frames #1) by Sue Perry. It's the first thing I've read from Smashwords. So far it's pretty interesting. Better than stuff I've read from regular publishers.
 
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Within_is_without

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I'm reading "A thousand naked strangers" by Kevin Hazzard. Good writing. I'm fascinated by how he deals with tense--the story has already happened and he's looking back at his experiences, and it's written in first person. But as he tells the story, he puts it in present tense. What tense to use, and how to switch around within the story, is tricky. I would like to find some good insights and instruction on this. As a reader, I have the sense I am looking at the world with the eyes of someone who has become desensitized to death and blood and horrible situations. The narrator speaks with emotional truth, and he does an excellent job of showing, not telling. The book is a gripping read and also a good study in the fundamentals and mechanics of story telling. Here's a quote I liked: "What that is— being shot six times at close range— is beyond malice or anger. It’s pure hate. It’s death by a loved one. It happens on the far edge of town."(Hazzard, Kevin. A Thousand Naked Strangers: A Paramedic's Wild Ride to the Edge and Back (p. 123). Scribner. Kindle Edition.)
 
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larocca

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I just finished reading You Are Here by Jenny Lawson. There's nothing wrong with the words, of course -- she's Jenny Lawson. But there aren't enough of them, which is why I'm glad I got this from the library. Nice drawings, but I like my verbiage.
 

Taylor Harbin

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Working my way through The Last Lion volume one about Winston Churchill. Also reading Tenth of December by George Saunders. About to start Brave New World​.