Flights of Fantasy discussion

We're going back to doing one currently reading thread, instead of monthly ones. :)


This morning I've started 11/22/63. I will be reading this forever...

I'm currently reading:
The Cabin at the End of the World - carryover from Halloween(ish)
The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter - Colleen's B-Day pick
Ninth House - Group read with another group
Halal Food: A History - Because it's interesting to me :)
Rabbit: The Autobiography of Ms. Pat- Because the hubby discovered her podcast and we decided to listen to her story

Upcoming:
How to Be an Antiracist - Due in 18 days to the library, so I gotta get on it!

I'm reading The Ghost Brigades on audio...

and, strangely, thats about it. I've been feeling blah

Recently went through the group book The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter, the Spellslinger series and the The Black Prism (Lightbringer) series. Nothing all that great, but all decent reads.

Really hope something really good finds its way to the top of my TBR for my next read...

Ala wrote: "Recently went through the group book The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter, the Spellslinger series and the The Black Prism (Lightbringer) seri..."


I have Spellslinger from the library, but I need to get thru 11/22/63 first.

I was not a fan of Black Prism... :-/

In audio I'm on The Blade Itself and in paper The Bumblebee Flies Anyway: Gardening and Surviving Against the Odds. Let's just say that there is no chance at all they'll get melded in my mind (which sometimes happens when I try to have two very similar books going at once).

I finished the Blade Itself audio a couple of weeks ago. Great stuff! I liked it quite a bit more on the reread.

18% in to 11/22/63. I was not expecting this book to tie in to (view spoiler)[IT (hide spoiler)]. I mean, I know King likes his tie-ins to his other works, but that is not one I would've guessed.

colleen the convivial curmudgeon wrote: "18% in to 11/22/63. I was not expecting this book to tie in to [spoilers removed]. I mean, I know King likes his tie-ins to his other works, but that is not one I would've guessed."

I agree, it was kind of a surprise to see those characters. But having read everything of his, it makes sense. :)

In Time for Christmas by Heather Blanton on Kindle
Charlene Williams lives in her own hell with a very abusive husband. When her husband Dale accuses her of having an affair with mailman, he takes her to the families, isolated, old dilapidated ranch house. Badly beaten with no heat or water. She wonders why God has not heard her prayers for help. Even though she doesn't want to die like this, she accepts she would finally find peace. In the blink of an eye she awakens in a warm, different place. But it isn't. It is the same ranch house, only 110 years in the past. Billy Page found her roaming around the pasture and takes her home to his grandmother. The both of them have no idea how to deal with this woman. A romance sparks between Charlene and Billy. And then Charlene finds herself back into her present day. This is my first read by this author and I just loved it. It was edgy, but not too deep. She touched on some gritty subjects, but did so tastefully and tactfully. It was a clean time travel romance with much suspense. I would recommend this book to you. I really enjoyed it. 5 stars

I've recently finished:
The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter - Colleen's B-Day pick - 3 stars, pretty good. :)
Ninth House - DNF'ed at 9% because I was bored and completely disinterested.
Halal Food: A History - 4 stars - really interesting!

I'm currently reading:
The Cabin at the End of the World - carryover from Halloween(ish) - currently on hold while I get to library and other priority reads.
Rabbit: The Autobiography of Ms. Pat- Ditto ^^
The Killer Next Door - Started this just to have an audio going in the car. You know, for efficiency!
How to Be an Antiracist - And finally starting this one... it's only due in 10 days. :P

Hi folks. Haven't been around in a while...don't ask, it's long and I'd probably bore you. Other people's angst and trials can be so trying.

Anywho, reading again and trying to post a few reviews. Just finished several fantasies and Stephanie Myers new book ( The Chemist ). Surprisingly good book (surprising for me that is. I didn't expect it to be a 5 star read). Starting The Hypnotist now. Seems a little slow and angsty for me, but we'll see.

Just realized I've been thinking that Ninth House and Gideon the Ninth were the same book until now.

WTF brain...

Ala wrote: "Just realized I've been thinking that Ninth House and Gideon the Ninth were the same book until now.

WTF brain..."

LOL not quite. Gideon actually sounds interesting though. :)

Finished The Killer Next Door. 1 star. Unimpressed.

There are a few books with that title, which one did you read, if I may ask?

Thanks.

Mike (the Paladin) wrote: "There are a few books with that title, which one did you read, if I may ask?

Thanks."

Ahh sorry, it was linked below so I didn't link it again in my last post, but I meant The Alex Marwood one. The Killer Next Door

Thanks, I found it by checking your profile and seeing which book you had listed...I'll probably skip it, LOL.

I'd say that's the right choice. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else, but I especially don't think you'd like it much.

LOL, thanks.

I'm still reading 11/22/63.

Ya know, I'm cool with King's writing style, generally... I just wish there wasn't quite so much of it... o_O

Finished Rabbit: The Autobiography of Ms. Pat finally!

I'm reading The Shadow of the Wind and really enjoying it! I took a break to read Darkdawn, but I got back to it this week ^-^

I'm going to be starting Circe on audio today while I get stuff done. Looking forward to it!

Read Starsight today. Nothing great, but not bad. It's about what you'd expect from a Sanderson YA SciFi.

Ala wrote: "Read Starsight today. Nothing great, but not bad. It's about what you'd expect from a Sanderson YA SciFi."

I've kinda given up on Sanderson's non-epic stuff... But even that I haven't read anything from him in a while.

Punted The Blade Itself in audio. Dunno what it is about me and Abercrombie, but I have a terrible time getting past the first few chapters of any of his books.

In its place is a book by some guys who run a political podcast I listen to. The chapters are a series of verbal riffs on a given theme rather than an ongoing thesis, so it's been going quickly and is fun to listen to. Just an hour or two left.

Next in audio once I'm done with that is Hogfather. I've read it once and watched the miniseries a few times. This will be my first time listening to it and I'm looking forward to it.

In paper/ebook is Ancillary Justice, another reread (good time of year for it, I guess!). Since I know where the story is going, more or less, I'm better able to soak in the details of the earlier parts of the book than I was the first time around. And there are a lot of them!

Hi Beth...just a question if I may. You a veteran of Dragon Warrior?
:)

I finished Circe the other day and am working on finishing How to Be an Antiracist, should finish tonight, I hope!

Then my library book stack:
The American Way of Poverty: How the Other Half Still Lives
The Witches Are Coming
The Quiet Game

Hiya Mike, I am! I started with DQ8 on PS2. (It seems more usual for people to have started with them in the NES era.) I love the slimes because they always look so happy and friendly.

My son had the Nintendo in '89 so we started with the first one (as a dad I got to introduce him to the RPGs for Nintendo...and of course play them).

:)

The one on PS 2 was the last I played (I think I still have it). I recognized the slime, LOL.

One of my GR friends called it a "drop of mercury." Obviously not in the know! :D

I commiserate with your friend, because the last few comments have appeared to be a foreign language to me. LOL

Carry on! :P

A lot of them are available on mobile, too.

We got a Sega after that but we seem to have gotten most of the systems at some point. There was a Sega game I really liked but can't recall it's name. It was Dragon something I think.

Your hero picked up different characters as they went along. It was played turned based and you moved each of your characters one by one depending on how far they could move and their abilities.

That sounds a lot like Shining Force to me.

THAT'S IT!!!!!

There was a Shining Force 2 also, not quite as good as the first.

I really liked that game.

As a hopeless fan of Harry Dresden (I play him at ComiCons), I'm working my way through his novels to date, finishing with Skin Game Skin Game, so I feel ready when the next, Peace Talks, drops in January. It's interesting to read the series and follow the character arcs: Butcher has a knack for plotting things that stretch characters, like forcing them to work with enemies.

Finished up my Ancillary Justice reread and enjoyed it even more the second time around.

After that I started Sharps but after about 60 pages I'm pretty sure it isn't going to stick. It seems to either be set in an already-established universe, or it's presuming that I care enough about a new-to-me alternate world to retain a lot of front-loaded detail about war, industry, generals, political factions, etc. Not quite what I'm looking for during a stressful time of year.

Cast in Secret is looking pretty good right now. This series absolutely has its flaws (see Gergana's delightful illustrated review of the first book for all the pluses and minuses) but a cozy trip through a familiar world is a better choice for me at the moment.

I finished The Witches Are Coming the other day and am working on finishing The American Way of Poverty: How the Other Half Still Lives but it's slow going because I have to read it on my Libby app on my phone. PAINFUL, I hate reading on my phone long-term. I need to get busy on it though. It's due in less than a week.

I'm also listening to an audiobook about microbes: I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life which is super interesting!

After that, I'll be starting The Quiet Game since it's due 12 days.

I finished The Raven and the Reindeer this morning. Pretty good - but now I need to read the Snow Queen, because I never had, and I'm curious as to how it compares.

Beth wrote: "After that I started Sharps but after about 60 pages I'm pretty sure it isn't going to stick. It seems to either be set in an already-established universe, or it's presuming that I care enough about a new-to-me alternate world to retain a lot of front-loaded detail about war, industry, generals, political factions, etc. Not quite what I'm looking for during a stressful time of year."

I tried one of Parker's books a couple years ago, and I DNF'd it out of boredom. I feel your pain. Good luck!

Didn't you hear Becky, the war on poverty's over...poverty won.

Mike (the Paladin) wrote: "Didn't you hear Becky, the war on poverty's over...poverty won."

I don't think I would consider that "winning". And the book explores exactly that supposed "war on poverty", which was just as effective at increasing it as the war on drugs has been.

Becky wrote: "I tried one of Parker's books a couple years ago, and I DNF'd it out of boredom. I feel your pain. Good luck!"

Do you remember which one it was?

I don't mind books with long windups/setups, and Parker's obviously a skilled and clever writer. I've tried two or three books along these lines recently, and eventually I'll figure out that I'm not actually in the mood for that for now...

Yeah, I think drugs won too.

I have a friend named Tom who used to say, "poverty just doesn't pay". Wise man.

Beth wrote: "Becky wrote: "I tried one of Parker's books a couple years ago, and I DNF'd it out of boredom. I feel your pain. Good luck!"

Do you remember which one it was?"

It was The Company

Right under your review for The Company, another friend writes: "KJ Parker writes the best books I’ve ever read in which almost nothing happens." :D

Mike (the Paladin) wrote: "Yeah, I think drugs won too.

I have a friend named Tom who used to say, "poverty just doesn't pay". Wise man."

Both "wars" are by design, and have done and are still doing exactly what they were intended to do. But I'm not trying to get into a political discussion in this thread. I was just updating what I was reading.

Beth wrote: "Right under your review for The Company, another friend writes: "KJ Parker writes the best books I’ve ever read in which almost nothing happens." :D"

Sounds about right!