What book are you reading...

Just finished Book 9 of The Wheel Of Time Series (Winters Heart).

Another rather rambling epic by Robert Jordan, the first 400 pages largely filled once again lots of Aiel, Seafolk, Aes Sedai etc. politics, flowery descriptions of what characters are wearing and thinking, various new names introduced for a chapter or part of then not mentioned again. Only in the last 150 pages does the story pick up and the two main climaxes - Mat's attempts to escape Ebou Dar and Rand's attempt to cleanes saidin are rushed through in short order. So great story, not so great story telling (again).

Also a key element of the story, the capture of Perrin's wife Faile by the renegade Aiel (Shaido) and his attempt to find her, gets a few chapters at the start of the book then never mentioned again.

And the ogier Loail seems to have vanished out of the story, despite being one of the best and most likeable characters.

Anyway got to finish now I've made it this far. so going to see if the library has Book 10 tomorrow - which is apparently nearly 900 pages - gnarghh!
 
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Arnhem Black Tuesday, Al Murray.

Really good, in-depth look at the Tuesday of Operation Market Garden and the Arnhem Cauldron for the airborne forces.

Considering his main profession is a comedian his books are a recommended read if military history is your bag.
 
I finished Stuka Pilot by Hans Ulrich Rudel yesterday. It was not a good read which was surprising, as he has a good story to tell.

Rudel has a claim to be the greatest pilot in history. He flew over 2,500 missions on the Eastern front, mostly in a Stuka. He destroyed over 500 tanks, and sank a battleship.

His nazi belief is clear throughout the book, which annoyed me no end.
 
This morning I finished The Kaiju Protection Society by John Scalzi. A reasonably short and reasonably entertaining read about an alternate Earth that basically has nuclear powered godzillas on it!

I've started the first Ian Rankin Rebus book, Knots and Crosses.
 
AndyCr15 said:
I've started the first Ian Rankin Rebus book, Knots and Crosses.
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I wonder if anyone can help me here. I was surprised how little detective work went on in this first book. Not looking for clues at the crime scene, not following a hunch and interrogating people, it was more 'oh, another body just showed up' and then the killer rather wanted to be found. I did still enjoy it, but does the series get more 'detectivey' as it goes? (A lot of reviews say this book was just the entry into the series, getting to know Rebus)

I've moved on to 'We Solve Murders' which I'm enjoying. I think I just like Osman's writing style.

I also started 'Sleepyhead' following someone's earlier recommendation. (I'll have to look back and edit them in) EDIT: Oh, it was @Vimes in the audiobook thread.
 
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I'm reading The Wisdom of Crowds by Joe Abercrombie.

Final book in the First Law universe.

The First blade trilogy was excellent. This last trilogy has been disappointing.

Still a decent read but not the type of story I was hoping for.

If anyone else wants to read books by Joe Abercrombie the first trilogy and Best Served Cold are excellent. The rest of the books haven't impressed me at all.

Next I will read the Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson.
 
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Vern1961 said:
Just finished Book 9 of The Wheel Of Time Series (Winters Heart).

Another rather rambling epic by Robert Jordan, the first 400 pages largely filled once again lots of Aiel, Seafolk, Aes Sedai etc. politics, flowery descriptions of what characters are wearing and thinking, various new names introduced for a chapter or part of then not mentioned again. Only in the last 150 pages does the story pick up and the two main climaxes - Mat's attempts to escape Ebou Dar and Rand's attempt to cleanes saidin are rushed through in short order. So great story, not so great story telling (again).

Also a key element of the story, the capture of Perrin's wife Faile by the renegade Aiel (Shaido) and his attempt to find her, gets a few chapters at the start of the book then never mentioned again.

And the ogier Loail seems to have vanished out of the story, despite being one of the best and most likeable characters.

Anyway got to finish now I've made it this far. so going to see if the library has Book 10 tomorrow - which is apparently nearly 900 pages - gnarghh!
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I'm in the Endgame of the last book.

I think the good outweighs the bad, but I won't miss Aes Sedai politics any time soon lol.
 
RobDogDog said:
I think the good outweighs the bad, but I won't miss Aes Sedai politics any time soon lol.
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Agreed.
I am re-reading TWOT and i am currently about 1/2 way through book 7.
As i said before, the slog can be difficult, but when they are good they can be very good.
I knew what to expect, but i do tend to skim read the slower parts. the politics parts are bearable imo but its the repeated silly descriptions of what a woman is wearing or her mannerisms that annoy me.
 
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j.col said:
Agreed.
I am re-reading TWOT and i am currently about 1/2 way through book 7.
As i said before, the slog can be difficult, but when they are good they can be very good.
I knew what to expect, but i do tend to skim read the slower parts. the politics parts are bearable imo but its the repeated silly descriptions of what a woman is wearing or her mannerisms that annoy me.
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I found the slog to be in a different place than most people. I loved book 1 and 2, then from book 3-6 I started to struggle a little bit. Books 7-10 I found fine. 11 was a big improvement. Then Sanderson took the series and ran with it.

On another note, my other book I'm currently reading is Dresden File 7, Dead Beat by Jim Butcher. A huge improvement over Blood Rites which was I thought was bad.
 
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RobDogDog said:
I found the slog to be in a different place than most people. I loved book 1 and 2, then from book 3-6 I started to struggle a little bit. Books 7-10 I found fine. 11 was a big improvement. Then Sanderson took the series and ran with it.

On another note, my other book I'm currently reading is Dresden File 7, Dead Beat by Jim Butcher. A huge improvement over Blood Rites which was I thought was bad.
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Got about 150 pages left of Book 10 which has picked up now towards the end, after the 80 page prologue then "going around the room" of the main protaganists for a brace of chapters each, but timewise set just before or just after
Rand and Nynaeve cleanse saidan in Book 9
I also like the little seeds of misdirection planted in Egwene and Elaida etc. who
completely got the wrong end of the stick and think the massive burst of saidar/saidan was a new Forsaken weapon
But I'm definitely looking forward to Book 11 when I pick it up in the library next week.
 
Vern1961 said:
Got about 150 pages left of Book 10 which has picked up now towards the end, after the 80 page prologue then "going around the room" of the main protaganists for a brace of chapters each, but timewise set just before or just after
Rand and Nynaeve cleanse saidan in Book 9
I also like the little seeds of misdirection planted in Egwene and Elaida etc. who
completely got the wrong end of the stick and think the massive burst of saidar/saidan was a new Forsaken weapon
But I'm definitely looking forward to Book 11 when I pick it up in the library next week.
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I've got about 150 pages left of the last book. Wonderful series and I started enjoying more once I accepted the flaws.

What series are you planning to read once you've finished this one?
 
Are people doing most of their reading via book or are some using kindles?

I have never used one and love books too much to ever think about switching but book self space is starting to run low and an e-reader makes a lot of sense.
 
I have a few books, most are on an eReader but I have most as an Audiobook too and make my way through books in both reading and listening. I do have a couple of series of books on my Xmas list as I do like reading from an actual book.
 
Currently split between The Signal and The Noise by Nate Silver, Lucky Loser by Russ Bettner and Susanne Craig. They're both hard copy paperback.

Also about halfway through Al Pacino's memoir, Sonny Boy, which he reads himself. Fascinating. (12 hours to listen in total)
 
opethdisciple said:
Are people doing most of their reading via book or are some using kindles?

I have never used one and love books too much to ever think about switching but book self space is starting to run low and an e-reader makes a lot of sense.
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E-reader here, i use a Kobo.
I had a similar problem, there were books everywhere, then 1 Fathers day my kids gave my an E-reader and the same day my missus made me remove all the books from the house (over 300 lol)
I don't miss the feel of a book in my hands and its nice to be able to enlarge the font if needed.
I prefer Kobo to Kindle as its more open and not tied down to Amazon
 
AndyCr15 said:
Yeah, I also like having it backlit. For an actual book, I bought a reading light, but just having the words lit up for you is easier...
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I specifically bought a backlit Kindle as reading a book in bed with an attached reading light was annoyingly unweildy and kept my wife awake too.
 
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checjb said:
I specifically bought a backlit Kindle as reading a book in bed with an attached reading light was annoyingly unweildy and kept my wife awake too.
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Lol so true. I remember using some little light on a bendy arm and the clip kept moving. Wasn't very bright also so resorted to bedside lamp. The back-lit ereaders are brilliant.
 
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