Comments on: Summer Reading List 2009

By: P.G. Holyfield

P.G. Holyfield — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 20:49:46 +0000

I want to hear what you think about The Strain and The Time-Traveler’s Wife. One I absolutely LOVED and the other, well, I didn’t.

By: Kris

Kris — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:09:24 +0000

@Rachel — I'm not sure whether I'll "go pro" on LibraryThing or not, especially given that there are definitely alternatives that I like quite a lot. I totally accepted your friend request, though. Totally.

By: Rachel

Rachel — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 15:03:17 +0000

PS. Oh neat, Naomi Novik is on LibraryThing: http://www.librarything.com/author/noviknaomi

By: Rachel

Rachel — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:56:03 +0000

My account on LibraryThing expired so I can’t add more books (for now, not sure if I want to renew) – but I did try to friend you.

By: Kris

Kris — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 18:10:02 +0000

@The Bearded Goose — Let me get this out of the way so we can get back to the topic at hand: Zahn's Star Wars books were awesome only in the respect that they opened the door for more new fiction in Lucas' universe. I only wish that could have been managed without introducing Thrawn, cortosis and—worst of all—ysalamiri. Moving on... This reading list was easy to assemble because it's already mid-summer and I finished a bunch of stuff in the past month. The first chunk (what I've read) and the second chunk (what I'm reading) present an illusion of organization and planning, lending a certain credibility to the weakest part of the list: those I've identified as what I'll read next. In reality, I'll probably finish Lamb this week, glance over at my bookshelf and see Patricia Anthony's Brother Termite sitting there and start reading that instead of anything on the third list.

By: The Bearded Goose

The Bearded Goose — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 17:29:27 +0000

I’ve never been able to plan out a reading list of any kind. The few times I’ve tried, I notice that I get to a point, usually only one or two books in, where I realize I don’t feel like reading any of the rest of the books on the list.

Thus, what usually happens now is I finish a book, I look around my overflowing bookshelves, and see which of them grabs my interest next.

This usually takes about 30 minutes. Yeah, seriously. Do I feel like a fantasy? Maybe urban fantasy? Damn, I wish the next Dresden was out. Or Codex Alera… Oh, what’s this, never mind, read that one already. Ooooh, a Zelazny I haven’t ready. Damn, I liked Amber. Should I read that again. Oh! Timothy Zahn’s Star Wars were awesome… Hm. Charles Stross. Keep meaning to read these. Ah! Been sitting on these E. R. Burroughs for awhile. Here we go! Doctor Who! But… which one… I like Rose, but Martha was fun, too.

Okay, Conan, here I come. Nah, maybe I’ll hit the library/book store and see what’s new. I really wish the next Dresdan was out. *sigh*

I’m pathetic, ain’t I?

By: Kris

Kris — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 14:54:29 +0000

@Greg — The audiobooks help a lot, but I've made a definite effort to read more this year. I'm also going back through my little library and finishing books that have been sitting on the shelf for a year or more. I'm not sure when it was that I bought Naomi Novik's His Majesty's Dragon; the receipt was still tucked in the front cover but all the text on the receipt had faded, so it was impossible to make out the date. I haven't read the print edition of World War Z, but the full-cast audio edition was fantastic. As for Cory Doctorow, I own Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, but I never finished it.

By: Greg

Greg — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 14:31:56 +0000

Wow. You’ve apparently made more time for yourself for reading than I. The past 6 months for me has been slow going – feel like I’ll never get through my current book, though it’s not a bad one.

The Time Travelers Wife is an absolutely brilliant book. Probably in my top 10 books ever, along with World War Z and Little Brother.