What Are You Reading?

[Jay 2K Winger]

"Bimbos of the Death Sun", Sharon McCrumb

Hahaha, I remember that one. Mom picked it up somewhere, amused by the title, and how non-indicative of the plot it actually is. I've read it several times, and still find it quite amusing how it dips into con culture.

[AnaKhouri]

Speaking of books, every Valentine's Day I tweet Tad Williams to tell him how much I hate him for killing off my favorite character in -series redacted for spoilers. This is the third year now. I like to think it isn't Valentine's Day for Tad Williams until I I form him how much cheaper I still hate him for that.

Shouldn't have killed her off, Williams.

[Kit-Ginevra]

A biography of Teddy Roosevelt.He's my favourite president l think-he was one of the elite New York families(one of the few that Lady Astor would allow to attend her balls-and she wouldn't even invite the Vanderbilts...) and yet he'd been out working rodeos and ranches with the working folk.For a President he was reassuringly human-after his wife and mother died on the same day all he could put in his diary was a black X and the phrase 'All the light has gone out of my life.'He was a military fighter with the Rough Riders but still had a guinea pig called Fighting Bob Evans' �� He stopped the Russians and Japanese from waging war but he loved his nephews and nieces and still on occasions had to be called down from their treehouse where he was playing with them because a minister had turned up for a meeting. And despite being a great militarian,there were still some problems he couldn't tackle..as he said about his daughter'l can be President of the US or l can control Alice.l can't do both' ��

[Ironclad Alibi]

I finished the Phryne Fisher books. All were excellent.

I am now half-way through The City & The City by China Miéville. It is murder mystery with a very unusual twist.

[AnaKhouri]

Son: We finished reading Stone Fox in school.

Me: So who cried?

Son: Well, me for one.

Me: Me for two, baby.

What's the saddest book you ever read?

[greek_jester]

What's the saddest book you ever read?

Charlotte's Web, hands down. I sobbed.

[Ghel]

What's the saddest book you ever read?

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, easily. Damn, now I want to put down the book I'm currently reading to read it again.

[Pixelated]

It was a short story titled "The Cold Equations" by Tom Godwin. No matter how often I read it, I still end up in tears.

[Ironclad Alibi]

I finished The City & The City and am now read a collection of short stories, The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

I also found out that the BBC made a miniseries based on The City & The City. Unfortunately it's not available on DVD yet.

[AnaKhouri]

Mishima's Sword, where the author tries to discover what happened to the katana Yukii Mishima used to commit seppuku in 1970. And Color Mage by my friend Anne Marie Lutz, which I am enjoying an awful lot.

[Nunavut Pants]

Just finished re-reading Moon's Deed of Paksennarion, and now on to Moon Flights, a collection of her short stories.

[telecom_goddess]

I'm re reading The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath.

[Pixelated]

Some really annoying shit on Facebook.

Oh wait, that's not what you meant ...

I'm rereading In the Company of Cheerful Ladies by Alexander McCall Smith. It's a mystery series set in Botswana and the main character is Mma Precious Ramotswe, who owns and runs the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, which is also the name of the book series (19 books as of 2018). I think I've got half a dozen of the books so far.

[greek_jester]

If you like Jane Austen-style period writing and magic, there's "Sorcery and Cecelia: Or the Enchanted Chocolate Pot" by Patricia C Wrede and Caroline Stevermer. The first book started more or less as a game between the two of them (the letter game) and eventually got turned into a book.

"Since they were children, cousins Kate and Cecelia have been inseparable. But in 1817, as they approach adulthood, their families force them to spend a summer apart. As Cecelia fights boredom in her small country town, Kate visits London to mingle with the brightest lights of English society.

"At the initiation of a powerful magician into the Royal College of Wizards, Kate finds herself alone with a mysterious witch who offers her a sip from a chocolate pot. When Kate refuses the drink, the chocolate burns through her dress and the witch disappears. It seems that strange forces are convening to destroy a beloved wizard, and only Kate and Cecelia can stop the plot. But for two girls who have to contend with the pressures of choosing dresses and beaux for their debuts, deadly magic is only one of their concerns."

I liked the original book the best; the sequels were still good (and did tie up some plot lines) but I didn't feel as emotionally connected to them as I did to the first. I still re-read them every so often, though.

[dalesys]

1637: The Polish Maelstrom - Eric Flint