174 replies to this topic

[LilBambi]

Nice! Thanks!

I am currently reading four books.

One is FreedomTM (Daemon 2nd book in Daniel Suarez's technothriller series) -- both books are great reads if you enjoy technothrillers! I gave them both 5/5 Stars at Goodreads.com. I am approx. 150 pages into FreedomTM currently. Both are excellent reads and quite the technothrillers! My thanks to Adam for loaning me the books along with Daniel Suarez's third book, Kill Decision which Adam says is even better than Daemon and FreedomTM!

Another is J. R. Rain's brand new Silent Echo on Amazon that I got on Amazon's new "Kindle First which "offers customers exclusive early access to four pre-release books chosen by Amazon Publishing editors across a variety of genres each month. You can sign up to get monthly reminders of new available titles." I got Silent Echo (review on Publisher's Weekly) for $1.99 (Kindle First member price). The book will sell for $4.99 normal price.

Silent Echo is a great book so far. I am on page 40. I was on page 2 when I had to put it away last night before our show. Had a hard time putting it down.
Also, the chilly morning of 41F this morning helped keep me under the covers a bit longer than usual and I really enjoyed curling up with a great book on my iphone where I have the font size larger and the background color black which makes it so much easier for me to read.
I just went on and on and hated to put it down this morning too. Can't wait to see how this all comes together. I have already so far given it 5/5 stars at goodreads.com.

Here's a geekwire article about Amazon First and being able to get J.R. Rain's Silent Echo with it along with three others:

The first four Kindle First books are:

• We Will Survive: True Stories of Encouragement, Inspiration, and the Power of Song, by Gloria Gaynor
  
• Things We Set on Fire, by Deborah Reed
  
• No Place for a Dame, by romance author Connie Brockway
  
• Silent Echo, by mystery author J.R. Rain

Edited by LilBambi, 03 November 2013 - 10:58 AM.

[V.T. Eric Layton]

I could not get past page 50 with Daemon. It just put me to sleep.

[ross549]

Daemon takes a bit to heat up. The first couple hundred pages really set the stage for the rest of it and the sequel, Freedom ™.

Adam

[V.T. Eric Layton]

I'm too old to wait for books to "heat up". My rule since turning 45 has been if it doesn't grab me by page 50, it's toast.

[ross549]

I generally have the same rule. It took me a bit to get to where the book would not let me put it down.

Put it in the bathroom and work on it a bit at a time until it garbs you by the throat. Trust me, it will.

Adam

[LilBambi]

Yes, I had the same problem with the beginning but it was definitely worth it. And it's a great set of books.

[LilBambi]

I just got Humble Bundle audiobook bundle (still available btw) recently and have so far read/listened to two of the books and they are not bad at all! I really enjoyed them.

So far, I have read Stolen by Lucy Christopher, and The Missing Book 1: Found by Margaret Peterson Haddox.

Have to wait to get the rest ... limited bandwidth per month sucks!

[Fuddster]

I started off the year reading at a pretty good clip, but I've been feeling like I'm living on the wrong side of the Wall lately. Instead of wanting to make me curl up with a good book, the dreary weather has put me in a bit of a reading funk. In addition, I've been geeking out over the two new additions to my family: my granddaughter and my new phone. (Don't look at me like that - I did put my granddaughter first!)

You can see what I've read so far this year here.

What I'm really enjoying this year is a two volume set from The Library of America entitled "American Science Fiction - Nine Classic Novels of the 1950s." Included in this boxed set are:

• Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth, The Space Merchants
  
• Theodore Sturgeon, More Than Human
  
• Leigh Brackett, The Long Tomorrow
  
• Richard Matheson, The Shrinking Man
  
• Robert A. Heinlein, Double Star
  
• Alfred Bester, The Stars My Destination
  
• James Blish, A Case of Conscience
  
• Algis Budrys, Who?
  
• Fritz Leiber, The Big Time

So far I've finished the first two, interspersed with other books. I want to get through the whole set this year. I'd also like to get their Shirley Jackson volume and their Philip K. Dick collection.

I also want to finally read "To Kill a Mockingbird" this year. I've never read it, and I'm trying to get back in the habit of reading more than my usual diet of science fiction, fantasy, and horror.

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Good stuff!

I'm currently having fun reading Larry Correia's Monster Hunter International.

Visit Monster Hunter Nation --> https://larrycorreia.wordpress.com/ <-- read his About Me, long but very entertaining.

[Fuddster]

I read monster Hunter International a few years ago when Correia was up for a best new writer award. I got it as part of the Hugo Voter's packet that year.

You might like Charles Stross's Laundry series. It's about Bob Howard, a regular IT guy who gets pulled into the world of computational demonology, the Lovecratian consequences, and the secret British agency that protects the world.  It starts off with The Atrocity Archives. It definitely earns the Fuddster Seal of Approval.

[EDIT] Here's a link to the series on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia...e_Laundry_Files
I met Charlie Stross at the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) in Chicago in 2012.

Edited by Fuddster, 09 March 2014 - 09:03 PM.

[LilBambi]

I just got finished reading The Sword of Truth Series by Terry Goodkind -- for the second time in as many years. Excellent and imaginative series!

The picture doesn't show the Novella Debt of Bones.

I have read from the Novella called Debt of Bones through Confessor and I read them in chronological order ... all except for The First Confessor: The Legend of Magda Searus and the last four after Confessor which I still need to get.

From the Wikipedia article:

In Chronological Order:[1]

• The First Confessor: The Legend of Magda Searus
  
• Debt of Bones
  
• Wizard's First Rule
  
• Stone of Tears
  
• Blood of the Fold
  
• Temple of the Winds
  
• Soul of the Fire
  
• Faith of the Fallen
  
• The Pillars of Creation
  
• Naked Empire
  
• Chainfire
  
• Phantom
  
• Confessor
  
• The Omen Machine
  
• The Third Kingdom
  
• Severed Souls
  
• The Law of Nines

Severed Souls and The Law of Nines have only been announced by the way. Still waiting on those.

Omen Machine was done in 2011 and The Third Kingdom in 2013.

Edited by LilBambi, 09 March 2014 - 09:50 AM.

[ebrke]

Fuddster, on 07 March 2014 - 11:43 PM, said:

What I'm really enjoying this year is a two volume set from The Library of America entitled "American Science Fiction - Nine Classic Novels of the 1950s."

I was going to ask how they could do 1950s sci-fi group without including anything by Arthur C. Clarke until I answered my own question--AMERICAN science  fiction.

[Fuddster]

The LoA also has a companion site for the set here, with essays about each of the included books and on the set as a whole.

[LilBambi]

I also read the Foundation Series and the Robot Series of Isaac Asimov this year for the upteenth time.

Great books!

And a bunch of other books as well. I love reading!

[Fuddster]

I love most of Asimov's stuff. I reread I, Robot a little over a year ago, and picked up one of his autobiographies, I, Asimov, last year at the local book festival.

[LilBambi]

Have you ever read any of Asimov's collection of short stories about the Black Widowers?

I read this one and it was very good: The Return of the Black Widowers (The Black Widowers #6)

I haven't read the rest of them, but this one was very good and is born out in the ratings.

[Fuddster]

I've heard of them, but haven't managed to read any of them yet. Unfortunately, even if I caught up with my to-read list today, I'd still never catch up!

[Fuddster]

I noticed we have some sci-fi & fantasy readers in this thread. Since I mentioned the Hugo Voter's Packet a little further up in the thread, let me explain for anyone who might not know about it.

Every year, the World Science Fiction Convention is held in a different city around the world. Last year it was held in San Antonio, this year in London, next year in Spokane. Members of the convention are eligible to nominate and vote for the Hugo Awards, given to the science fiction and fantasy works deemed worthy from the previous calendar year.

Since 2010, every sitting Worldcon has managed to put together a package of all the "in print" nominated works in e-book format, including novels, magazines, related books, graphic novels and much, much, more. The only cost is a membership to the convention. In addition to the attending membership (which is a couple hundred dollars), you can buy a supporting membership, which as of today is $40 USD for this year's convention. For your $40 you'll get close to a metric tonne's worth of reading and be able to vote on the best of 2013's science fiction and fantasy.

Click the "London" link above to find out more.

[LilBambi]

Excellent Fuddster! Thanks!

[LilBambi]

I may have to write about it on MyPassionIsBooks blog when I have a few minutes to spare to do so! Or maybe you would like to be a guest writer and write about it since you know more about it than I do. PM me if interested. It would be great to have someone else writing. No monetary gain for any of us, but it's fun!

[Fuddster]

More sci-fi bookish goodness - Neil Clarke, owner/editor of Clarkesworld Magazine, used to own a bookstore. When it closed, he got stuck with a lot of unsold inventory that he used to lug around a bit at a time to try to sell at conventions. Since his heart attack in 2012, he's been reluctant to lug those boxes around...

Neil Clarke said:

I’ve decided to tackle the problem in stages, starting with the paperbacks. There are thousands of new/unread mass market paperbacks on these shelves and I’m starting with them.
I’m going to start boxing up lots of thirty new books (no-dups) by genre and selling them off for $30 shipped free via media mail (meaning US only). I’ll start by offering them direct and when that slows, move onto ebay.
All proceeds from the sale of these books will be placed into my special Clarkesworld Magazine issue #100 fund. It’s a big milestone and I feel the need to do something special with that issue.
So, anyone interested in buying some books?

30 Books for 30 Bucks, you can pick either science fiction, fantasy, or horror.

House-full-o-books

Now if I could only figure out how to get them in the door and past my wife...

P.S. I have no problem spending other people's money.

Edited by Fuddster, 10 March 2014 - 05:32 PM.

[V.T. Eric Layton]

You wouldn't believe the books that I gave away a few years back (close to 3000 hardcover editions - 1/3 of my personal library). I couldn't get anyone interested in buying them. Even thrift stores were turning me down for donations. One local church thrift near my house agreed to take them if I brought them in over time. It took me 6 months of weekly deliveries to get them all over there. There is such a printed book glut on the Internet that many are sold for .01 + S/H. I have a huge box of 1st Eds. that used to go for $25 minimum back ten years ago. Nowadays they're not worth the paper it cost to print them. Sad.

[LilBambi]

I got one of those boxes from Eric! Very nice indeed!

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Yeah, I shipped you the really old Sax Rohmer books and some others, too. I shipped Josh a box of Sci-Fi books.

[LilBambi]

Wow, for the first time ever! And I go there a lot, goodreads.com had an overcapacity sign up:



That little over capacity marker wasn't up for long but it was a surprise...

Edited by LilBambi, 15 March 2014 - 12:09 PM.