Beyond Reality discussion

The heat is definitely on! Let us know what you are reading during these hot summer days and whether you recommend it.

I just started The Once and Future King for a different book club and I’m enjoying it immensely.

Just finished The Spirit Of Steamboat by Craig Johnson. Fulfilled both my liking of Longmire stories and of vintage WW II aircraft.

I just started Dreaming the Eagle by Manda Scott, Book 1 of her series about Boudicca, the Celtic warrior queen of 1st century Britain. Hoping it will be good.

The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

Still reading Dust of Dreams
Its slow going

I finished the rest of the October Daye series and now I have to wait for the next book like everyone else! I then read through Wholly Unraveled: A Memoir and Caroline: Little House, Revisited. I love summer vacation :)

A friend of mine gave me The Clock Winder to read so I'll give that a try next, then will go back to genre with Dragon Haven, unless one of my pending BotM library loans comes through first.

A Crown of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi

Just finishing The Six Wives of Henry VIII. Then I'll go on with Food: A Cultural Culinary History and The Story of Human Language -- both absolutely fascinating lectures.

I finished Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch which I read aloud to my boys (we are on a Terry Pratchett read-a-thon), it was funny but couldn't fascinate me in the way his best works do. The depth is missing.

I read Alien Virus Love Disaster by Abbey Mei Otis, the most depressing story collection I've read in my whole life. Her prose is admirable, her poignant honesty as well - but, hell, was I devastated.

My spirits lifted with the next read: Endymion by Dan Simmons, the third installation of the Hyperion Cantos. Book 1 is the best SF book of all times for me, book 3 doesn't reach its genius, but is a wonderful read nonetheless; more on the adventurous side than the two sequels.

Gabi wrote: "My spirits lifted with the next read: Endymion by Dan Simmons, the third installation of the Hyperion Cantos. Book 1 is the best SF book of all times for me, book 3 doesn't reach its genius, but is a wonderful read nonetheless; more on the adventurous side than the two sequels."

Please tell me you have The Rise of Endymion lined up next! These four books together are one of my all-time favorite SF series ever :) . I LOVE the ending.

I couldn't get into the Ann Tyler book my friend lent me so going to pick up Dragon Haven next.

Shel wrote: "Please tell me you have The Rise of Endymion lined up next! These four books together are one of my all-time favorite SF series ever :) . I LOVE the ending."

Definitely! Two scheduled BRs and then it is back to the last book of the Hyperion Cantos. I'm thrilled that you love the ending, this sounds so promising!

I’m currently reading

Next I think I’m going to start Mistborn or

I loved Mistborn. I wasn't really impressed with The Alchemist. It was nice enough, though, but not outstanding, imo. :)

Gabi wrote: "I finished Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch which I read aloud to my boys (we are on a Terry Pratchett read-a-thon), it was funny but couldn't fascinate me in the way his best works do. The depth is missing.."
Yep, I felt the same way, you get the Pratchett feel, almost. I felt that probably was Gaiman's influence in the manuscript

Gabi wrote: "My spirits lifted with the next read: Endymion by Dan Simmons, the third installation of the Hyperion Cantos. Book 1 is the best SF book of all times for me, book 3 doesn't reach its genius, but is a wonderful read nonetheless; more on the adventurous side than the two sequels."

The Endymion books, while good, just could not hold a candle to the Hyperion books.

I just finished All These Worlds and am not ready to leave the Bobiverse. But the story has ended and I'm about to start Dragon Haven which I was looking forward to before I got lost in the Bobiverse (I really loved those books!!)

I just finished Grace Hopper Admiral of the Cyber Sea and Green Arrow 8: The Hunt for the Red Dragon. I highly recommend the Grace Hopper book to anyone in a tech or military field.

I'm working on Worlds of Honor 6: Beginnings, which has been a typical Honorverse book so far. Not sure what I'll get to after that but I'm hoping to get far enough ahead on my reading list that I can join in the Fitz and the Fool trilogy discussion when it happens.

I ripped through Dragon Haven in just a few days and my library loan for Trail of Lightning came in just in time, so I'm about a quarter of the way into that. I also grabbed a book of new N.K. Jemisin short stories (How Long 'til Black Future Month?) while I was at the library so I'll probably read those next.

Shel wrote: "I finished the rest of the October Daye series and now I have to wait for the next book like everyone else! I then read through Wholly Unraveled: A Memoir and [book:Caroline: Little..."

I started reading the October Daye series recently, and I've been bingeing. They read quickly, and they're hard to put down. I didn't care much for the first one, but I was hooked by the second. What a ride!

I finished Dreaming the Eagle, 9/10, and found it to be an excellent mix of historical fiction and fantasy. I will definitely be continuing this series by Manda Scott, but not right away.

I read A Taste of Honey, 6/10, a novella by Kai Ashante Wilson, a fantasy love story that was a little hard to follow (lots of jumping back and forth in the timeline of the characters' lives) but pretty good. Like short stories, novellas never quite give me enough to feel satisfied... Then I read Revenge in a Cold River, a William Monk novel by Anne Perry, 6/10, a bit too convoluted and felt like the reader was more removed from the characters than usual. These 2 books were for the Early Book Books Summer Reading Challenge.

Next up is Dragon Haven for our group read, then another Jack Reacher book, Running Blind, and then Merlin's Booke: Stories of the Great Wizard by Jane Yolen.

Chris wrote: "I started reading the October Daye series recently, and I've been bingeing. They read quickly, and they're hard to put down. I didn't care much for the first one, but I was hooked by the second. What a ride! "

Oh yes, they're VERY bingeable. So much fun!

Reading STORM OF LOCUSTS before my European vacation

Starting Annihilation today.

Religions of India in Practice by Donald S. Lopez Jr.

Changeling by William Ritter

Finished Annihilation, Authority, and should be finishing Acceptance soon. OMG I adore these books. Right up my alley and exactly what I was in the mood for.

Now I have to figure out what's next.

I read and loved Perdido Street Station. What an achievement by China Miéville.

Anthony wrote: "I read and loved Perdido Street Station. What an achievement by China Miéville."

One of my favorites! I think the slake moths are the scariest fictional monsters I've ever encountered.

Lots of reading this week: Trail of Lightning and Circe for our group discussions, Strangers Tend to Tell Me Things: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Coming Home by my favorite advice columnist, interspersed with short stories from How Long 'til Black Future Month?. Now I'm about to pick up The Witch Elm, a mystery. On deck after that is A Shadow in Summer for the August read.

Dragon Haven for our series read, 9/10, utterly enjoyable. I find it fascinating how the keepers are becoming Elderlings.

Running Blind, 9/10, my favorite Jack Reacher book so far. A more interesting mystery, less graphic violence (although still gruesome in spots), less “one-man-army against all the baddies”.

Merlin's Booke: Stories of the Great Wizard, 6/10. Short stories, poems, and excerpts from other sources related to Merlin. I love Arthurian lore, but this collection seemed quite uneven to me. Some excellent poems and stories, but my overall impression at the end was kind of blah.

Now reading Dreaming the Bull, the second book in Manda Scott’s series about Boudicca, the warrior queen in 1st century Britain and the battles with the Roman legions. Well-researched and well-written, like the first book.

Next up will be Downbelow Station and A Shadow in Summer for our August reads, another Jack Reacher book by Lee Child, Echo Burning, and a SF stand-alone by Sarah Zettel, Playing God.

Oooh THE WITCH ELM is a brilliant mystery from Tana French.

Glad y’all liked PERDIDO STREET STATION, you should try THE SCAR which is similarly strange and wonderful.

MadProfessah wrote: "Oooh THE WITCH ELM is a brilliant mystery from Tana French.

Glad y’all liked PERDIDO STREET STATION, you should try THE SCAR which is similarly strange and wonderful."

I've loved all of her Dublin Murder Squad books so I've got high expectations! :)

Kathi wrote: "another Jack Reacher book by Lee Child, Echo Burning.."

I read this, I think last year, its enjoyable Reacher

I had a reading-run the last weeks (meaning my family needs now a photo of me to remember how I look like if my nose isn't in a book) and I encountered some real jewels:

Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees, although dated in parts is an enchanting Fantasy/fairy tale novel which gave me some "Picnic at Hanging Rock" vibe.

Memory of Water by Emmi Itäranta has some of the most beautiful prose I've ever had the pleasure to read. A dystopian treasure of deep melancholy and beauty with not a single word where it shouldn't be. A masterpiece.

The Once and Future King by T.H. White: here I can very well appreciate the effort of the author and the importance of the book, but I couldn't get into it at all. It left me untouched.

Amatka by Karin Tidbeck: a dystopian novel of the other kind. A mysterious future society where words can literally change reality. Open ended, very little hand-holding - exactly how I love it. (yet I would advice not to read the GR summary, cause it gives away too much of the mystery. I always ever read the first line of blurbs to have a slight idea what the book is about and then leave it at that, which was a blessing in this case)

Ship of Destiny by Robin Hobb: which though it had all the wonderful worldbuilding and characters typical of Hobb came in with two plot developments that made me more hate the book than like it.

Perdido Street Station by China Miéville: Yes, all the yes and more! Weird, brutal, inventive, imaginative and with insects and spider! I've found a new fav author.

Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein, not too bad, but quite dated and I don't like this 50/60ies take on women. At least the ideas felt more inventive in those golden times of SF than I see in most nowadays novels.

Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee: here the hype and me had to go different paths. I read (listened to) the book appr. 1.5 times to make sure I got everything, but I could not master the enthusiasm so often bestowed upon it. Quite the contrary . (I have to say that military SF is my least fav subgenre, so it had a difficult go from the beginning)

And then I started the "Books of the New Sun" by Gene Wolfe. I've read The Shadow of the Torturer and The Claw of the Conciliator so far and I'm captivated like hell! What a weird and cleverly constructed series. I'm clued to the pages and my brain works overtime.

I finished City of Dragons and am moving right on the the final book, Blood of Dragons. I've really enjoyed this series

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

The Unicorn in the Barn by Jacqueline K. Ogburn

Somewhither by John C. Wright

Kathi wrote: "Next up will be Downbelow Station and A Shadow in Summer for our August reads, another Jack Reacher book by Lee Child, Echo Burning, and a SF stand-alone by Sarah Zettel, Playing God."
Well, Downbelow Station was excellent—looking forward to the group discussion of it. 9/10
Echo Burning was good. I think I need to read them (the Jack Reacher series books) a little further apart so the similarities from one to the next are not as fresh. 7/10
Ready to start A Shadow in Summer. Then Playing God by Sarah Zettel and Dreaming the Hound by Manda Scott.

I had a rough week last week and needed something brainless so I retreated into an old favorite, the Belgariad series by David Eddings. I just now finished the short stories in How Long 'til Black Future Month?, which were all wonderful and reminded me that I have some other unread N.K. Jemisin books sitting on my shelves that I may pick up soon. A Shadow in Summer is next, and I also have The Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey that I just picked up from the library.

Took a break from Dust of Dreams
Reading The Impossible Dead

Anyone else DNF “Downbelow Station”? I just simply did not care what was happening to the characters.

I’m sorta sad because I’ve heard so many good things about CJ CHERRYH and she has many accolades and awards but this is the second of her Hugo award winners that I simply could not finish. (First was FOREIGNER). In both the pace of the plot appeared *glacial*, the characterization was meh and the technology was pedestrian. These are all aspects I judge Space Opera/science fiction by and Cherryh seems to have another view.

MadProfessah wrote: "Anyone else DNF “Downbelow Station”? I just simply did not care what was happening to the characters.

I’m sorta sad because I’ve heard so many good things about CJ CHERRYH and she has many accolad..."

I did finish and really enjoyed it. I found it to be “old school” space opera in many ways—nor surprising since it was written in the early eighties. So yes, the tech was nothing special. I found it better once I got into it, maybe 25-30%, and had a better sense of what was going on.

I don’t want to say too much here since we will be discussing this book starting tomorrow.

I finished Blood of Dragons and thoroughly enjoyed it!! It wa hard to leave this world and move on to another book. Next up is Touch; I'm having trouble getting into this book. The author's long descriptions of cities is dragging me down. I'm guessing I will move on to something out of genre (Celtic Empire)

MadProfessah wrote: "I simply could not finish. (First was FOREIGNER).."

Same here, people absolutely rave about her but I tried a few times to finish Foreigner and could not. After that I just never bothered to read anything else she has written....till a few weeks ago, picked up The Faded Sun Trilogy. Will try it some day