What are you Reading Now?

[Steerpike]

You can read anything by Alexandre Dumas. They're all loads of fun.

 

[kennyc]

The Big Front Yard by Clifford Simak .... The title crossed my mind this morning and I had not read it since I was a kid.....did a bit of googling to find it on line.....a bit worn technology and language-wise, but still a fun story!

 

[Steerpike]

I like Simak. Some great authors out of the golden age of SF/F that aren't well known anymore. Simak, Robert Sheckley, A.E. van Vogt, etc.

 

[Mythopoet]

Just recently finished Lyonesse: Suldrun's Garden by Jack Vance. I don't know why it isn't more commonly known as a great fantasy read.

 

[Brian Scott Allen]

Just finished the Sum of All Men by David Farland and am reading the sequel now. They're both okay nothing really to write home about. These both could use a good fat trimming in my opinion, but I still like them.

 

[Tom]

Perhaps the rule for reading The Silmarillion is "third time's the charm". I've found myself completely pulled in by the myths, and I love the language and imagery Tolkien weaves. The Silmarillion doesn't feel like relatively modern fantasy at all--it seems ancient, like it's been around for thousands upon thousands of years.

 

[skrite]

Going to give the Silmarillion a read. Never have before. It seemed too intimidating. But hey, why not?

 

[Steerpike]

Just got my Hugo packet. Lots of reading in there.

Also reading The Girl With All the Gifts​, which so far is pretty cool.

 

[Mythopoet]

You guys are making me want to dig into The Sil again, but I've got so much on my TBR pile! Maybe I'll listen to it instead. I can do that while doing other things too.

Actually, right now I'm mostly reading an online fan translation of a Japanese speculative fiction novel called Shin Sekai Yori or From the New World. I watched the anime and loved it and wanted to read the novel it was based on, but there has never been an official English translation. Fortunately there's a very dedicated fan working slowing by regularly at translating the whole thing! So far the novel is amazing, just the best speculative fiction I've probably ever read. The translation is here:

About | Shin Sekai Yori – From the New World

 

[kennyc]

Been reading Brian Doyle today after getting his collections of essays and short stories. I've admired/loved his essay 'Leap' for some time now and re-read it regularly. Read his story The Hawk yesterday in Flash Fiction International for a second time. Great stuff.

 

[Brian Scott Allen]

Just finished brotherhood of the wolf. Now I'm starting Card's writing book.

 

[cupiscent]

Spent today reading the Hugo-list short stories and oh dear. It's a bit embarrassing.

 

[Mythopoet]

I tried to force myself to read Titus Groan, got through chapter one, and then sought refuge in rereading Lud-in-the-Mist, which is even better now than the first time. Such a good fantasy. I love its take on all things Fairy. I'll probably press on with Titus Groan after I'm done with it.

I've been trying to read The Well at the World's End by William Morris as well, but oh... my... god... I can't stand the faux medieval prose. It's like the way ignorant people always imagine RPers talk.

 

[Incanus]

How funny. I've got both Titus Groan and Well at the World's End coming up fairly soon. The Morris looks like it could be... tough going. We'll see. Still working on Three Musketeers and it is quite wonderful.

 

[Mythopoet]

How funny. I've got both Titus Groan and Well at the World's End coming up fairly soon. The Morris looks like it could be... tough going. We'll see. Still working on Three Musketeers and it is quite wonderful.

I managed to read Morris' The Wood Beyond the World without much trouble, but that one is significantly shorter than Well. I'm into the 18th chapter in Well but only 19% of the way through the book. Nothing really interesting has happened yet and I'm getting bored and there's so much farther to go. But I'm determined to finish eventually, because this is the one is considered one of the original great novels that created the modern fantasy genre.

The Three Musketeers is great! I need to reread that at some point and maybe actually finish the series this time. I read Twenty Years After and started reading The Vicomte of Bragelonne, but didn't finish it. That was back before I had a kindle and it was hard to find those final volumes. I had to get an inter-library loan for them, but wasn't able to finish before it had to go back. But now I can get all the volumes easily in ebook format. Yay for the digital revolution!

 

[Mythopoet]

Well, I finished Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirlees. Highly recommended.

I'm working on Titus Groan, the first book of the Gormenghast trilogy. It is... painful. I'm only about 17% in and really struggling. It's not even a matter of not being interested, or there being something wrong with the book, I just find it dreadfully unpleasant to read. Everything that is depicted so far is ugly and grotesque and repulsive. I take it that's the point, but well, it's not the sort of experience I like to have while reading. At least now I know what Steerpike's name is a reference to.

 

[Brian Scott Allen]

Trying an audiobook of Wizardborn. We'll see how it goes.

 

[Gryphos]

I'm trying to read The Lies of Locke Lamora since I want to enhance my dialogue writing ability and I hear Scott Lynch is really good, but I'm struggling man. It's so slow at the beginning. I'm like a fifth of the way through the quite chunky book and the 'main' plot line hasn't even reared its head. Plus the aforementioned dialogue, while technically smooth and witty and well-flowing, I feel tries too hard to be clever and witty that it ends up feeling quite unnatural at some points. I'll keep on trying to get through it, but I am underwhelmed, to say the least.

 

[Russ]

I have decided to go on a spree and spend about half my reading time reading self published works by MS members. Quite enjoying it so far.

 

[skrite]

I have decided to go on a spree and spend about half my reading time reading self published works by MS members. Quite enjoying it so far.

I think i would like to do that too. Man, where to start? I'm kinda new here, is there a list?