books What are you reading right now?

[Rappy Veteran]

finally finished hunger games! onto the second book!

[Paul Ferson Veteran]

I finished Alamein last night. It was quite good, and one scene towards the end with a member of the Italian Folgore struck me as quite beautiful in a tragic kind of sense. If you're interested in the African Theater of World War II, then it's a worthwhile read. I've moved onto Daniel Silva's Mark of the Assassin. It's definitely a competitor for the smallest pages in a book but considering the size of the font, it makes the most of the page size.

[Growled Member]

The Sentinel Mage by Emily Gee. I've only read the first few chapters by it seems rather good.

[josh11]

this topic :p

[Mathachew Veteran]

First chapter was kind of rough to get past. Felt like I was reading Shakespeare with the odd dialog. I surely hope the rest of the trilogy is not like this, nor as overly detailed.

[Paul Ferson Veteran]

I finished Daniel Silva's Mark of the Assassin. It wasn't bad, but apparently it ties in with some other books he's written in another series, so it may be beneficial to read them. For the most part the plot moves at a decent pace, and the end is quite tense at least - it didn't fall flat at that point. It's definitely quite a readable novel. I'd give it 3/5, though I'd probably read the sequel even so. At times it felt that the plot was slowing down and not really progressing anywhere, and then at other times it moved at a blistering pace. I'd suggest it to anyone who needs another action novel to read, assuming they can find a copy. After finishing The Mark of the Assassin, I moved onto Eagle in the Sky by Wilbur Smith. I'd read only one of Smith's previous books - The Dark of the Sun.

According to reviews I'd seen on Goodreads, The Dark of the Sun is one of Smith's poorer examples, and assuming everything retained the same quality as Eagle in the Sky I would be inclined to agree. It was actually a very impressive book - I had assumed the entire story related to conflict, much like the previous book I had read by him. It did not though. It read almost as a sort of romance novel when the story switched to an African setting, but it wasn't the sort of romance I expected. I actually enjoyed it, for a start. I'm definitely going to be seeking out more of Wilbur Smith's books. I have Birds of Prey, also by Wilbur Smith, sitting on my bookshelf. I might read it next, depending on what I feel like.

Currently, I'm reading the above. The Bear and the Dragon, by Tom Clancy. Undoubtedly, it is the biggest book I'll ever have read when I finish it. It's just under 1,200 pages. However, it is a political thriller, so I'm expecting something good. According to reviews on Goodreads it's one of Clancy's weaker novels but seeing as the most I've ever read by Clancy was the first chapter of The Hunt for Red October, I think I'll be blissful in ignorance at least. Clancy has a good reputation as a writer and I hope that this novel can deliver something entertaining. So far, I'm seventeen pages in and an S600 Mercedes-Benz has exploded, so it's well on its way to being something very exciting. Clancy's writing style is very readable, and the only issue I'm having with reading in bed is the size of the book - because it doesn't use the widest of pages it's very thick, so I'll have to see if it means altering the manner in which I read in bed.

[metallithrax]

Just finished American Psycho, currently reading a Barry Manilow biography.

After that it will be "Measuring America by Andro Linklater" and then "Bandit Roads-into the lawless heart of Mexico by Richard Grant" .

[s1k3sT]

http://www.amazon.com/Live-Free-Die-Reclaim-Country/dp/1449045553

The Author is brilliant at explaining her near death experiences with a terminal case of Crohn's Disease. She makes you feel as if you have walked the journey with her as she used a concentrated oil made from the cannabis plant to put her disease to rest.

http://www.amazon.com/Emperor-Wears-Clothes-Authoritative-Historical/dp/1878125028

Herer thoroughly documents the petrochemical industry's plot to outlaw this renewable source of paper, energy, food, textiles, and medicine.

http://www.jackherer.com/thebook/

[Mathachew Veteran]

[TakeNothingBack]

Casino Royale by Ian Fleming.

[qdave]

Childhoods end by a.clarke.

Fascinating read :)

[Mathachew Veteran]

Finished Assassin's Quest and started this a few days ago. Almost a third done and loving it:

[Paul Ferson Veteran]

It took forever and a day, but I finally finished Tom Clancy's book. I also bought The Hunt for Red October. I'm hoping it's a little more fast-paced than The Bear and the Dragon. At times, that book felt like it was going round in circles endlessly. It may as well have been because virtually no progress was made in the space of about two hundred pages. It was just two hundred pages of sitting in the PRC's Politburo, reading the discussion between a handful of people when their plans were already quite clear. At times, it progressed really well though: for example, when

Cardinal Renato DiMilo, and the Baptist minister were shot by the Chinese policeman in the hospital. The follow-up tensions between China and the Western world were excellently written.

.

I've now moved onto The Road by Cormac McCarthy. It was a book I never expected to find locally, though I was pleasantly surprised to find a copy in a charity shop for ?1.50. It was for a good cause, and I heard nothing but praise for the book. I'm not too keen on how it is written but at least it moves quickly - it makes a change from the book I just spent the past couple of weeks trudging through. The Road either has really large spaces between paragraphs, or it's just a book that is structured to allow fast reading, because I made it through nearly 80 pages in about half an hour last night. I'm near enough a quarter of the way through the book according to Goodreads, and it comes as a bit of a surprise because it still doesn't feel like it has progressed much either. The setting is brilliantly captured though - if anything, it's worth reading for that alone. My next book came in the post today, thanks to eBay. See below:

I've grown more and more interested in Soviet history, after having looked into it a little. This book seems to have had very positive reviews, and I decided that I'd take my chances with it. Some reviewers felt it was a very dry subject, as it does not detail Lenin's policies and such, but I still think it's going to be interesting seeing as the man laid the framework for Stalin to come in and impose his own version of Communism on the USSR. I'm hoping I'll learn something more via this book as well. Even if it doesn't manage to be interesting, I have a resolve of 'finish reading anything I start', so I'll finish it regardless. And at ?4.99 (with free post and packaging), I think I got a great deal! At the absolute minimum, the spine of the book looks good. At best, I'll get the other two books on Soviet politicians that Robert Service has written ('Trotsky', and 'Stalin'), and have the full series sitting together.

I still need to get a decent bookcase for all these purchases though. :p

[Redmak Administrators]

Michael Robotham - Lost

[kurupy]

After watching Game Of Thrones, decided to read the books. Got so hooked on them i couldn't put them down.

[Mathachew Veteran]

Just finish the first book, Ilium and started the second and final of the series:

[tuckeratlarge]

[Timelimit]

First chapter was kind of rough to get past. Felt like I was reading Shakespeare with the odd dialog. I surely hope the rest of the trilogy is not like this, nor as overly detailed.

It's a great series when you get into it :)

Currently finishing 'A Game Of Thrones' and have 'A Clash Of Kings' at the ready.

[Fred Derf Veteran]

As per Mathachew's recommendation, I am now reading:

I'll go request the next book before I get too far into this one.

[Mathachew Veteran]

It's a great series when you get into it :)

Currently finishing 'A Game Of Thrones' and have 'A Clash Of Kings' at the ready.

It was very long winded imo, taking so long to get somewhere or for something to happen. Give me less details on the scenery and more movement in the story. In the final book, I was getting frustrated with chapter after chapter of Verity carving his dragon. At one point I may have literally blurted, "Get on with it already!" Maybe it was a great series in the late 90s compared to other fantasy novels, but compared to say, Mistborn, it hardly compares. I enjoyed the first two books more than the last, and while the conclusion was a bit unsatisfying, not all realistic endings are, and that is a small positive.

As per Mathachew's recommendation, I am now reading:

<snip>

I'll go request the next book before I get too far into this one.

I'm giddy with excitement! :p

[Fred Derf Veteran]

I'm giddy with excitement! :p

Incidentally, you said a few pages back that The Alloy of Law would be a stand alone book but it does seem to be a part of the Mistborn series:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mistborn:_The_Alloy_of_Law

[ipeters61]

It's all (mandatory) summer reading right now. I wish I could pick my own books, I enjoy reading on my own more than for school.

Half way through this...

Still these to go...

(I'm taking AP Language and Composition next year...)

[Mathachew Veteran]

Incidentally, you said a few pages back that The Alloy of Law would be a stand alone book but it does seem to be a part of the Mistborn series:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mistborn:_The_Alloy_of_Law

It is, but as a stand alone novel and is not a part of Sanderson's trilogy of trilogies he planned for the Mistborn universe. The wiki has more info on it. And if you haven't read the summary for Alloy of Law yet, DON'T!!

[Paul Ferson Veteran]

I finished The Road by Cormac McCarthy. It's a good enough book, but the manner in which it was written is quite unusual, and I'm not sure I liked that aspect much. I'm now debating with myself whether I should read Where Eagles Dare or Lenin: A Biography by Robert Service. I'm leaning towards Where Eagles Dare at the moment though, seeing as it always gets praise as a book. I may just get all three of Service's books on the main Soviet political powers (I need Trotsky and Stalin), and just read the three of them all together.

I wouldn't mind getting a copy of Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler but it's surprisingly expensive, presumably due to the controversial nature of the book.

[jnelsoninjax]