EPBOT Readers discussion

Hi everyone! Wow, week 30 already? Where is this year going?

So I have a big stack of library books ticking away to due dates. I'm trying to march my way through them so I don't have to mess with trying to re-check them out, paying late fees, or making extra trips over. Means my reading needs to step up a pace!

The Hidden Oracle - Fun read as usual. Hope the next book goes back to changing perspective. I like his writing, but always getting the perspective of the title male character gets a little old. I preferred the Heroes of Olympus series that jumped between the whole group. Or the Kane Chronicles that switched between the brother sister pair.

Queen of the Air: A True Story of Love and Tragedy at the Circus - Finally got to this one! I am using it for my Read Harder book about sports. Yes i realize i'm stretching the definition, but I find most sports really boring. And even hockey I don't like enough to read a book about it. I really enjoyed the story. My only real qualm was the author inserted a lot of his own thoughts about how the people felt into the story. (such as "Perhaps he was upset that his wife was present for that first meeting") I realize he was probably trying to add depth to them, but it was supposed to be nonfiction. I wished that he'd either have left them out, or presented it as a novelization of her life and story. Something akin to the Danish Girl, which was nominally about a real person but the details were tweaked into a novel. I still really enjoyed reading it, though.

Fire Touched I lost track of this series for a while, and found the newest one at the library while I was there. Then realized I'd missed the one before it (this one) so picked them both up. I enjoy the series a lot, so it was a good read.

Currently I am reading Stranger in a Strange Land - I'm going to use this for Read Harder's banned book. It's been on my to-read list for a while, being a sci-fi classic. I just started it last night, so I haven't read enough to form a real opinion. I'm just trying to remind myself it was written in the 60s, so a lot of the attitudes are dated. I'm also impressed that my library got the shiny embossed cover version.

How is everyone else's reading going?

Hello All,

I'm posting early this week as I'm off presenting at a conference in Toronto tomorrow and the rest of the weekend.

Once again you've given me another book for my to read list, Sheri. Stranger in a Strange land looks intriguing, and I do love some mid-century sci-fi that tries to predict the future (dated cultural references and opinions aside).

This week I finished reading The Lonely Hearts Hotel for my published in 2017 book, and it got even darker and grittier by the end. I also found the end wholly unsatisfying. Was this book well-constructed and beautifully written? Yes. Did I appreciate what the author tried to accomplish? Yes. Will I be reading it again? Nope. It was just too tragic, although I would recommend it to people who like stories that focus on the tragic and to anyone who is interested in authors who write using very poetic language. The author's use of metaphors in this book is up there with the best I've ever seen.

I also read Boneshaker for the Steampunk prompt, which was highly recommended by many people and suggested as something lighter to read after The Lonely Hearts Hotel. I think my experience with this book was like when you hear from many people about a blockbuster movie being really good, and so you set your expectations really high, and then are disappointed. In other words, if I hadn't heard so much about it, I might have liked it more, if that makes sense. The premise was really original, but I feel like the author failed to live up to its amazing potential. The two main characters (Briar and her son) seemed really underdeveloped--Briar in particular as there seemed to be a lot more room to explore her character given her rich backstory. I found myself drawn a lot more to the secondary characters and wanting to learn their stories, particularly since Briar and her son had the habit of jumping into everything without thinking things through, which I was really annoyed with by the end of the book. Sorry, everyone who loves this book!

Last night I started reading Faint Promise of Rain, which is my book written by an author with an ethnicity different from mine. I'm only on the second chapter, so I haven't formed much of an impression yet. It's about a girl who is promised to a Hindu temple in 16th Rajastan and seems interesting so far.

My tally so far for the challenge is 32/40 books. I'm getting there!

Stephanie,

I always worry about over-recommending a book for that reason! I was trying to not oversell it, but I suppose if too many people suggest the same book it just naturally happens.

I know you probably don't have a good impression, but I will say that Clementine goes into the story about the airship pilot guy Captain Hainey, if he's one of the characters you liked more. It's short too, more of a novella.

I was considering trying that Lonely hearts one, but maybe not. I can deal with tragedy ok if I'm taken by surprise but I have a hard time going out of my way to read one. Kind of the whole "ok when do I WANT to be depressed?"

I'll let you know how Stranger In A Strange Land goes. I think I have read another Heinlein one before. Oh yeah, Starship Troopers, and I rather enjoyed that one. So hoping it turns out alright!

Sheri,

I wondered if there was an extended universe beyond the Clockwork Century novels! The secondary characters seems too interesting for them to not get their own stories.

Yeah, I'd stay away from Lonely Hearts unless you wake up wanting to be depressed or explore the darkest side of human nature. I should also add that this book should come with a trigger warning for sexual abuse as that's the very first thing that happens in the novel (the author sets the tone EARLY!)

Stephanie,

Well Clockwork Century is her catchall for all the books in that universe. The second one, Dreadnaught, involves a southern nurse on a cross country journey to see her father who is..uh...one of the guys in Boneshaker whose name is escaping me. Begins with S? Each one focuses on a different leading lady in a different part of the country but the same Era. Plus there's another novella Jacaranda about a haunted hotel.

Stephanie, I'd forgotten how the way Briar just jumped into things started to bother me. Zeke bothered me less, mostly because I sort of expect teenagers to jump into action, while I expect adults to pause and reflect a little more. I think that I'd read Boneshaker without hearing any hype, so for me it was just another enjoyable quick read. And, it was enjoyable enough to read more of Cherie Priest's writing, and the ghost stories have been good, as was I am Princess X.
All of that said, I tend to find that most of the steampunk I've read have characters that aren't hindered by the thought process before acting. Gail Carriger's "Finishing School" series or Agatha H (the Girl Genius novels) being the 1st that pop to mind.
I think that I read these things to remind myself that overthinking things doesn't lead to adventure.

I think I interpreted her just jumping into things as being a result of being the town pariah. She had no ties to the town except Zeke. With him disappearing into Seattle, he's basically the only important person in her life at that point. So I guess it made sense to me that she'd just go barreling in after him. Also it's admittedly been a few years since I read it. It's possible if I re-read things that didn't bother me the first time around suddenly would. It happens a lot!

@Sheri I enjoyed The Hidden Oracle a lot but was less impressed by the second book which hasn't happened in a while with him. I hope the next few in that series will be loads better than that.

As for my reading week. Last Sunday I finished The Shepherd's Crown and it made me sad. It was the last book by Terry Pratchett, that he was working on, and it wasn't finished when he passed in 2015. It was so weird reading it, it made me unable to rate it at all.

Then I finished The Goblins of Bellwater where I am still gathering my thoughts on. It had solid writing but couldn't really hook me.

And I finished Windwitch for a buddy read. It is sad to see that this second book just could not make the world work or the multiple point of views. And I love multiple point of views.

Then I read Faefever and Dreamfever, books 3 and 4 from the Fever series which left me again, somewhat dissapointed. I love the ideas and the world but I am having a hard time with all the rape. I'm reading book 5 now and so far I am not happy.

I'll keep that in mind for the second Apollo book, not to get my hopes up too much.

Yeah that last series you mentioned, I don't think I could read. I have trouble with rape as a plot device and even used well, it's distasteful. Think I'll give those a pass!

Susie, your thoughts about Zeke being a teenager and so likely jump in were the same as mine, so he didn't bother me as much. With Briar, she was all about being worried about him because of this reason, and then went right ahead and continued to do the same thing herself, even when she was getting some very good advice not to from people who really did know what they were talking about! And I really didn't like the, "well, she's a worried mother, so she's going to rush in" type of excuse, either--I think it's a disservice to a female character to portray her as a mother who can't keep her wits about her when her child is in danger. I think this is why I got annoyed with her by the end. That said, I am curious about the rest of the universe--the premise of the world Priest is building is interesting enough that I will give the next book a try at some point. My library has the whole series, so all it will cost me is a few hours of reading. Also, I did enjoy the fact that Briar was a crack shot, even if the story line never really explained how she got so good with a gun (which I think would have been interesting!).