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Post by Solana on Aug 5, 2014 18:36:37 GMT -5
Wow, this thread has been dormant a while.
Keeping in the spirit of things, Jim Hines' 'Codex Born' came in paperback a day early, so I snagged one yesterday to enjoy on my day off. I also called the very nice English lady whose son I introduced to the series to let them know it came in early as well.
'Such a typical libriomancer response. Something weird wants to kill us? Cool! Where did it come from, and how does it work? And, depending on the inclinations of the libriomancer, how can I catch one and take it apart?'
I'm up to selling forty copies of 'Libromancer'. Sixty more to go to join the club at work.
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Post by Solana on Jan 6, 2015 12:02:47 GMT -5
More early Jim Hines goodness! 'Unbound' came in a day early instead of today, my day off. We also got a Richard Castle book in bargain I didn't have yet, and I requested a John O'Donohue book about the elements to be shipped to the store. My parents gave me a gift card instead of wading through my requests, and my discount will make it last quite a while. Then for the holidays, I received an Errol Flynn novel, 'As You Wish', and the Ace of Cakes book. Also, the Kim Harrison books were reordered, so I picked up where I left off reading them at break. Yeah, I'm set for books for quite a while.
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Post by Rune Lai on Jan 28, 2015 17:39:31 GMT -5
This is the first year I'm eligible to vote for the Nebula Awards (which are kind of like the Oscars for writers, in that it's a peer vote rather than a fan vote). I haven't read much 2014 fiction at all, and certainly not enough novels and novellas to give any informed nominations, but I'm binge reading as many short stories and novelettes as I can to made sure I can give appropriate nods.
I'm hoping to finish in the next couple of days...
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Post by Solana on Apr 19, 2015 20:20:32 GMT -5
Right now I'm waiting for the last Kim Harrison book to come in paperback and tried a Jennifer Estep book. Funny, but a lot more gritty than the Hollows books. (Most of the lines that made me laugh weren't ones that I should repeat out loud at work.) We're also going to be expanding my beloved fantasy section at work, and I've offered my services for selecting new titles we should be carrying. (I'm regarded as the fantasy expert- one of my managers grabbed me as I was leaving to ask me to help a customer find something good. I got him set up properly.)
I also dove back into 'The Oceans' by Ellen Prager. I love my fiction, but I very much enjoy scientific nonfiction as well. It's fascinating how there are so many variables that affect the ocean's ecosystems, between the winds and gravity and pressure and salinity and temperature and.... wait, where is everyone going?
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Post by Ambrienne on Apr 19, 2015 23:19:49 GMT -5
I tried Jennifer Estep. She was a bit too, er, well... you called it gritty. Let's just say I didn't care for it. I'm more of a fan of Drew Hayes and R. J. Ross when it comes to Superhero fiction, anyway (sure, Ross' stuff is kind of goofy at times, but it's always a fun read). I did like the overall concept of the first one of Estep's but not enough to continue reading once the next book's viewpoint shifted to someone of ::coughs:: lower moral fiber (seriously, the woman put the 'maniac' in pyromaniac). Btw, even Drew Hayes' non-Superhero works are pretty fun reads, too. NPCs is a fun riff off of tabletop gaming (you have to love a Paladin whose god is the god of minions), while Pears and Perils was compared by one reviewer to Joe vs. the Volcano. The latest stuff I've been reading is mostly retro in nature. As in, a previous century. Everyone's heard of Sherlock Holmes, of course. However, have you ever heard of A. J. Raffles, aka the Amateur Cracksman? The author who wrote his stories was a contemporary of Doyle's, and I would consider this guy the archetype of the charming, rascally thief. Of course, the most fascinating bits happens during how burglaries and the like go horribly wrong, but still... it's interesting. His name's been used as an adjective much the same way Sherlock is for feats of deductive logic. I've been thinking of looking up Maurice LeBlanc's Lupin books next, but it's a bit more difficult to find any kind of complete collection of this one the way I did for Raffles. I'm currently working on Jacques Futrelle's complete collection, most of which is on a professor character dubbed 'The Thinking Machine'. He's also a fascinating author. It's a shame he went down with the Titanic. One could only imagine what else he might have written.
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Post by Anon Mous on Apr 20, 2015 13:03:07 GMT -5
Got a bit of an interesting story. My boss came up to me the other day with one of the books from downstairs and said, "You need to read this book." He was holding a copy of "Read Player One." "Okay, why?" I asked. "They're going to be making a movie about this and Steven Spielberg has just signed on as director. There's going to be a lot of retro game references and characters in it and Steven is the only one who can bring it all together. It would be kind of like Wreck it Ralph but with bigger named references." "Okay . . . So why do you need me to read this? What's it about?" "I have no idea what it's about, but there is supposed to be a lot of retro game references that you would get. I need you to read it and tell me what it's about." "Why don't you just read it?" "Come on. I don't read books." My boss, ladies and gentlemen.
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Post by Ambrienne on Apr 20, 2015 13:40:30 GMT -5
I really would recommend Ready Player One. It's pretty good. It mentions Zork, Joust, and Fraggle Rock, among other things. So, it's not just video game references, it's 80s/90s culture in general as well.
It takes place in a future that is a lot more online/Virtual Reality dependent than today. A lot of kids go to school online because it's considered safer than face to face stuff. The protagonist is a high school age boy that is very poor. So poor that he has to hide the computer/VR equipment that he uses to participate in school to keep his mother or her boyfriend from selling them (I presume for drugs, but I don't remember for certain). Not having any money of his own, most of what he can do online is just school stuff, however he gets sucked into a craze that started back when the founder/father of VR, etc. died and left a provision in his will that whoever could solve the mystery he'd left behind would end up inheriting the whole enchilada, including his fortune and all VR related rights/controls. There's the typical, big bad money hungry conglomerate that is slavering to get its hands on the rights as the enemy, of course.
But yes, our hero is the one to discover the first gate/key and really get the ball rolling. The first gate involves beating someone at Joust. I don't really want to say too much so as not to spoil it, but he joins forces with a couple of other kids to save the day. There's a bit more to it than this, but really, you can sum it up with friendship conquering all (not that there's nothing horrible that happens in this book, because the big company is ruthless).
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Post by Solana on Apr 27, 2015 9:00:05 GMT -5
That one's been selling like hotcakes at work. I believe it was on a few school reading lists. I haven't read it yet (too much good stuff to keep on top of it all) but I'll add it to the list. Yay for non mainline interests, because the last Kim Harrison book came in paperback a few days early instead of on my day off! Ah, I missed the pixy swearing with Tink. I'd tossed around the idea of buying it and saving it for my trip, but... pffft, as if waiting two more weeks was going to be an option.
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Post by Solana on May 31, 2015 20:52:13 GMT -5
So in return for badgering my coworkers about my beloved 'Libriomancer', I decided to start taking recommendations. My manager's suggestion of 'Throne of Glass' started off slowly, but then I really got into it towards the end.
Prince- Would you like a story? Assassin- How about the one where the prince annoys the sick assassin? Prince- I love that one!
My fellow head cashier recommended Jim Butcher, saying there were some similarities to Jim Hines' work. After he described a few scenes, I knew it couldn't wait. His books had sold well for years, so let's try it.
Why the HELL did I wait so long? This was exactly what I wanted- snarky fantasy, a hero that takes damage and lands in unfortunate situations, a wacky sidekick, references to fantasy and pop culture mixed in with mysteries while I've been watching 'Castle' and 'The Mentalist'? Yes, please! There are at least fourteen, and it's employee appreciation week. Extra discounts FTW!!!
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Post by Ambrienne on May 31, 2015 22:33:46 GMT -5
Still going mostly retro with my reading.
I read some of Maurice LeBlanc's Lupin stuff. At first, I was somewhat amused. But then, I hit the infamous Lupin vs. Holmes showdown. I... was not amused. I mean, I'd read in reviews that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had gone somewhat ballistic over LeBlanc's work here, and I understood why. Even if you weren't exactly a fan of Holmes, but were at least a fan of accurate characterization, you'd be mad. I just could not force myself to continue. I mean, there is teasing that's all in good fun, but this was, well, I don't think there was anything good humored about LeBlanc's treatment of things here. Sadly, I am not recommending LeBlanc, here. At least with Kaito Kid and Conan Edogawa having showdowns throughout Case Closed, the same author is involved and neither character comes off looking like a spoiled child.
Okay. Mini rant over. Now, onto other recent reads.
Arthur B. Reeve's Craig Kennedy, Scientific Detective. I've only read about eight of his adventures so far, but the dialogue, the science of the times, and everything else is just coming off quite well. One of the ones I've read so far even deals with the so-called spontaneous combustion death, and another deals with thermite, diamond scammers, and a certain kind of gas that NCIS viewers might recognize. Awesome stuff here.
Tom Barber's Sam Archer series, starting with the first one, Nine Lives. So far, I've read the first three in total, but you definitely want to start from the beginning. The author is Australian (if you're curious), and the thrillers are so far located either in the U.K. or New York. Barber seems to be an expert at yanking people's chains. Just when you think you've figured out where things are going, you can be proven to be dead wrong. I'm not even sure why I initially picked up this series given it's out of my usual genre range, but I was glad I did.
Spencer Quinn's Chet & Bernie series, the first one of which is called Dog On It. These are private eye novels told from the perspective of Chet, the dog. You can't get through one of these books without laughing, I promise. I'd recommend trying to find these at a library, though, unless you can get them on sale. For some reason the cover prices on these seem to run on the high side.
...I wish I had something fantasy related to recommend, but a lot of the stuff I've read lately in that arena has been disappointing for one reason or another.
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Post by Solana on Jun 27, 2015 14:47:21 GMT -5
Right now I'm working my way through the stuff I snagged during Employee Appreciation week as well as some fantasy strips. (Those are when books aren't selling and have the covers 'stripped', but we're allowed to take some home for free.) I finished 'The Hogfather' and LOVED the idea of Death stepping in for Santa Cla-ah, I mean, the Hogfather. That poor oh god of hangovers, too... One of the strips I grabbed was a Juliet Marillier to take a break from the snarky and urban fantasy. I love Celtic mythology, and the beauty of her writing style is amazing. I'd seen her books come in the other place, but never picked any up. It's a good break, reminding me a little of Rosalind Miles without the large amounts of sap.
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Post by Solana on Jul 15, 2015 11:47:25 GMT -5
Ah, my coworkers are still supplying me with the good stuff. I've been talking about the story I'm working on to be (hopefully) published one day at work. One of my coworkers, hearing that I'm looking for books on espionage for the twin spies I'll be writing for, suggested 'The Finishing School' series.
It's a YA read, and very funny. You have to love the lessons on etiquette and espionage being meshed in the same sentences. For example, learning about how to draw knives without ruining the trim on your dress, or asking whether the discoloration of one's handkerchief comes from experimenting with poisons again. I think some of these will come in handy as one of my twin spies will focus on the gentry and richer folk, and will need to know more of this stuff. It's light, fun, British, and with a touch of steampunk. I recommend it for a fun read that doesn't take itself too seriously.
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Post by Ambrienne on Jul 15, 2015 15:37:38 GMT -5
If that's by the author I'm thinking of, you may want to go back and read the Parasol Protectorate series since it came first. I haven't read the FS series, but I believe it's focused on the PP lead's daughter. You might like that for background. Unless I'm getting authors confused, in which case, never mind. It's still a fairly enjoyable read anyway. I don't remember it being quite as light, though. You might want to look up a series of British mysteries by Rhys Bowen that are known under the Her Royal Spyness title as well. No Steampunk here; it's historically straight. However, it gives an interesting perspective given that the lead for this one is considered royal enough that getting a real job is frowned upon. Yet she has to work, because she's got no money. There's another steampunk series by Shelley Adina called Magnificent Devices that deals with some interesting chemical ideas as well as things that go into pretending to be nobility (as well as scamming the rich out of money by inventing card games and then fleecing said nobles). The skills kind of go hand in hand. I think you'd love her development of a pepper bomb. As to what I'm currently reading: Master of Formalities - Scott Meyer This is the same guy that writes the Magic 2.0 series that starts with Off to be a Wizard. This book is in a totally different world and, while still humorous, it's not as light hearted. I'm only about 40% through it, and though I'm enjoying it, the running joke with the daily formal speeches is getting kind of old/annoying. The Absent Gods Trilogy - David Debord I'm not far enough into this to give any firm opinions, but the characters seem to be interesting enough. I think the lead female is a bit too overtly hostile though. The Lexi Charmichael Mysteries - Julie Moffet The first one of this series is No One Lives Twice, and I've just finished No Test for the Wicked (is that no 4 or 5? I've lost count; there are still a few more for me to get my hands on). It features a geek girl as the lead who initially works for the NSA (by the second book, she's working in the private sector), and it contains plenty of humor, action, and romantic attempts that go hilariously awry. It's definitely a refreshing read.
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Post by Solana on Jul 16, 2015 13:43:25 GMT -5
You're right, it is the same author as Parasol Protectorate. I finished this morning and was kind of disappointed at the final action scene, (very contrived) but am still enjoying enough to want to read more. Too bad I overanalyze other stories as a writer sometimes. Thanks for the other suggestions. The twins will be supporting role for this one, but I'm already planning a sequel where the 'more proper' twin will be the protagonist, and my current protagonist will have a supporting role. I'm TRYING to concentrate on the first one first, but when one listens to a good piece of music and wishes a scene that was equal to it, well... the muse takes it as an invitation. I am quite interested in the one that involves chemical ideas. As a biology person, I also had to study quite a bit of chemistry and really enjoyed the last semester. Can't be only using it for fireworks colors, after all.
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Post by Rune Lai on Jul 16, 2015 16:53:38 GMT -5
So Jim Hines is coming to town in November for a convention that I usually attend. Solana... I know you're a big fan. Which series of his would you recommend for someone who has never read anything of his? I prefer complete stuff so I'm thinking reading the first book of either the Goblin or the Princess series.
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