What books are you reading right now?

Recently finished:

• Don't Breathe a Word (Jennifer McMahon) - a "creepy fairy tale" that had me wondering, "are fairies real in this universe? Or is everyone just batshit crazy?" Maybe both. Writing's a bit choppy, but the plot made up for it, I think.
• The Seventh Bride (T. Kingfisher) - The miller's daughter becomes engaged to a mysterious noble she's never met. Shenanigans (not of the fun variety) ensue. This felt more YA-ish, though it isn't supposed to be, but I enjoyed it. Also, she has a hedgehog.
• The Summer Queen (Elizabeth Chadwick) - historical fiction, based on Eleanor of Aquitaine (Queen of France and Queen of England, among other things.) Historical accuracy notwithstanding, I thoroughly enjoyed this one and look forward to reading the sequel. (Edit: oh, it's a trilogy. 3rd book out this fall.)

I usually reread the Harry Potter series near the end of July. Also been wanting to reread the Mistborn series, and I've been meaning to start Wizard's First Rule for months now. Hmm.

 

Previous Read: ISIS, State of Terror by Jessica Stern & JM Berger

Current Read: Israel, A History by Anita Shapira

with another five books waiting to be read.

 

The Best Horror of the Year: Volume 6 was on sale for like, two bucks. I usually enjoy anthologies put together by Ellen Datlow, but...well, 2013 must not have been a good year for horror. A few good ones, but mostly, I was underwhelmed.


Edited to add: I feel like I said something similar for the last horror anthology I read, too. Perhaps I'll stick to the Horror and Fantasy anthologies that Datlow edits with Terri Windling, instead of just straight-up horror.

 

I am trying to get back into reading as much as possible. Trying to alternate between fiction and non-fiction. Here are the last books I read and the date I finished them.

Ashlee Vance - Elon Musk - 2016.05.05 - This is the biography (so far) of Elon Musk. For anyone interested in the man this is a must read! It is written by a journalist, so at times it feels like you are reading a news paper aimed at 12 year olds, but for the most part it is excellent.

Brandon Sanderson - The Final Empire, The Well of Ascension, The Hero of Ages - 2016.06.26 - Finished the trilogy really fast, it was very enjoyable. Essentially its your typical high fantasy, with a great twist on how magic is played out. There is another trilogy out that takes place like 300 years after the events in this book. I plan on finishing that before summer is out.

Erland Bakke - Never Work Again - 2016.06.30 - This is an excellent book. Written about the possibly ways to bring value to the world that doesn't involve what we were taught as children: Go to university, get a job, work for 40 years, retire. Talks a good bit about outsourcing your work, and focusing on what you are good at to bring value to others. Outsourcing is a way to pay others fair wages, and multiply your own productivity by orders of magnitude. I recently got into outsourcing the odd thing and it is amazing. Can't wait to grow my own business even further by hiring others to do tasks for me so I can concentrate on the things that I need to.

Brent Weeks - The Way of The Shadow - 2016.07.13 - This is another high fantasy book. This time it is about assassins. The writing style is a little odd, and can be jarring at times. Overall a very good book, the other 3 books in the "trilogy" are on my list of books to finish up.

Currently reading the autobiography of Andrew Carnegie. An amazing individual who has inspired many of my heroes. Bonus: The book was free for my Kindle! On the public domain.

 

Lorna Doone by R.D. Blackmore. I'm not sure if I'm going to finish this because the author attempts to write authentic dialogue, and reading his Scottich dialogue can be painful.


The Secret Life of Laszlo, Count Dracula by Robert Anscombe. While RA's writing is pretty good and he keeps the story moving, I'm at page 124 and Laszlo has yet to kill anyone.

 

The Secret Life of Laszlo, Count Dracula by Roderick Anscombe.

Oops, I previously misread the author's name as Robert.

This novel was an entertaining read, but there are some flaws that bother me.

What did Laszlo do with his bloody clothing after he starting biting the young women to kill them?
Since Budapest wasn't that far from the town where his castle was located, being seen dining out with his mistress a great risk.
One prostitute at the bar had clearly seen his face, she could give the police an accurate description of Laszlo as the man who left with the prostitute who was murdered.
While the author never has Laszlo's wife confirm having seen him kill his mistress, it's presented as a known fact, and yet she allows his old friend and his cousin, who have a teen aged daughter, to make a visit to and an extended stay at the castle.
The open ending bothered me.

 

Lorna Doone by R.D. Blackmore.

Rant on.

This novel is so bad it would be laughable if it wasn't so long.

I'm not even going to use the spoiler function.

A secret underground gold mine. Under the moors...with no mention of seepage, water removal, or flooding.

John Ridd (the younger) is such a pussy he can not bring himself to shoot (an easy shot, a certain kill) Carver Doone, even though:
1. At the time Carver is leading an attack on the Ridd farm with the intention of re-capturing Lorna Doone, killing everyone else, and burning everything on the farm to the ground.
2. Ridd knows, actually heard him say, that Carver either killed John Ridd (the elder) himself, or was at the scene and gave the order for him to be killed.
3. Carver had threatened to kill Lorna Doone, with whom John Ridd is madly in love, and even fired a shot at her feet as a warning.
Important related note--Later in the novel Carver shoots and very nearly kills Lorna at the wedding of John & Lorna. It never occurs to John that this is his fault.

Ridd's pussy status is further illustrated by him not killing Counsellor Doone even after:
1. CD visited the Ridd farm claiming to seek negotiations, when in fact he was there to steal an incredibly valuable necklace from Lorna. Which he accomplishes by tricking Annie, one of Ridd's (really gullible & stupid) sisters. Note--I would've referred to her as Stupid Shit until the day I died, or could no longer speak or write.
2. Later, as CD is sneaking away from a battle rather than "fighting like a Doone!" he lies about having the necklace, and tries to stab Ridd when Ridd takes the necklace. Pussy Ridd not only lets him live, and leave, but gives him the largest diamond from the necklace as a parting gift.

Rant over.
--- merged: Jul 24, 2016 5:52 PM ---
Since the edit function and my computer aren't playing well together, I'll let the threads merge.

The Covenant by James Michener.

 

I started the Tess Monaghan series from Laura Lippmann for my commutes via audio book. They are entertaining. I need a Cook County Library card so I can access their audiobooks via OverDrive, too. Im on number 5 but Jax library doesn't have it

 

Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Irin Carmon, Shana Knizhnik: 9780062415837: Amazon.com: Books

 

Rise of the Warrior Cop by Radly Balko

Excellent book on how we have militarized out police force and how we have come to accept the idea of being passive in the face of police aggression even when there is no apparent reason for it.

 

a heavy tome full of promise
i clutched it to my bosom cross armed
on the walk home from the library,
somewhat in anticipation
but mostly because my old wrists hurt.

annie proulx - barkskins

this book is brand new
i might have nightmares of being the first to foul it with food stains

♫

 

I immensely enjoyed Proulx's The Shipping News, and to a lesser degree Accordion Crimes. And I could've sworn I read a book by her about a guy trying to buy land for a corporation in West Texas, but I might have my authors mixed up.

 

The Covenant by James Michener. A very long read, with a disappointing ending. For the most part JM does a good job of using fictional, quasi-fictional, & real characters to illustrate the history of South Africa. When this book was published in 1980 it was relevant to what was happening in South Africa; that relevancy has waned over 36 years.
--- merged: Aug 7, 2016 4:19 PM ---
Same Kind Of Different As Me, by Ron Hall & Denver Moore with Lynn Vincent. Non-fiction. An unlikely friendship forms between a homeless man, a successful art dealer and his wife. This is a feel good Christian publication, something I normally avoid like diseased temptation. So far, I'm up to page 105, the story has been interesting and the 'Christian Message' has been relatively low key.

 

Currently doing my annual Harry Potter reread. I'm a little over halfway through the Order of the Phoenix. I also have the Cursed Child (thanks to a generous TFPer!) and I'm torn between finishing the original series so everything's fresh in my mind for the new one, or putting The Half-Blood Prince on hold and diving right in. HBP is my favorite, though. Hmm.

Before the reread began, I finished Landline, by Rainbow Rowell. Not my usual fare, but it was pretty good. A woman whose marriage may or may not be on the rocks discovers she can call her husband in the past...before he was her husband. Far-fetched (and to be honest, a "magic phone" isn't the least believable thing) but entertaining.