Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

I received ad eternum in the post today, which I preordered back in October. It's shaping up to be just as beautiful and satisfying an ending to the New Amsterdam series as I hoped it would be.

Finished Timeless in a day. What a lovely series that was.

Starting up Infernal Devices now.

Currently reading The Lies of Locke Lamora and A Cook's Tour: Global Adventures in Extreme Cuisines.

I just finished listening to Coraline on audio. I'm thinking that I'll listen to Ender's Shadow next. I'm reading Theft of Swords on my Kindle and it's really good. I also read the first half of The Bell Jar yesterday. It's not sword or laser, but it's a fast read and I'm liking it a lot more than I thought I would.

I've been doing a lot of reading and have been lucky that everything with the exception of Hyperion was excellent.

Hyperion just did not wow me, some of the individual stories were good, others not so much but I felt like the author spent to much time in giving the history of all the characters which failed to make me interested in the situation that they had been brought together because of.

Other books I have read:


Of Blood and Honey
And Blue Skies From Pain
The Way of Kings
The Black Lung Captain
The Iron Jackal

I am currently reading Mind Children: The Future of Robot and Human Intelligence. Loving it. So much so that I ordered a used hardback of his Robot: Evolution from Mere Machine to Transcendent Mind, which will be here in 2 days. I love Amazon.

I'm currently listening to the Dark Tower 4.5, The Wind Through the Keyhole: A Dark Tower Novel, which is narrated by King himself. Mr. King, please don't quit your day job as a writer. I hate the narration so much, I'm considering having my computer's Alex voice read to me. For a writer who knows his own book, his emphasis is atonal and wrong, wrong, wrong. He sounds like he's reading his stuff. I miss Frank Muller, may he rest in peace.

Finished Lance of Earth and Sky, which I quite enjoyed, and started The House on the Borderland and Other Mysterious Places by William Hope Hodgson. I've read other Hodgson (The Night Land and The Boats of the 'Glen Carrig' and some short stories) but never House on the Borderland before. I have the lovely hardcover edition from Night Shade Books but I'm actually reading the much more convenient $6.00 ebook that I picked up from the Baen ebooks website.

All of my reading time in April was sucked into a vortex called Jack in the Green so my first step should probably be to finish reading The Magicians!

Audio books are the way forward as I can listen while driving to work. I am part way through Courageous so will finish that off and then get into this months read Hyperion

Aloha wrote: "We hoarders have bags of things hidden everywhere. That 2,784 books listed are not all I have. I haven't gotten around to listing all I've got. *boast of a crazy book hoarder*

Oh, it's only 1,8..."

I have about 50 GB of books. But that includes audio and ebooks. I had to recently reboot my kindle so I can find stuff. I only uploaded the 100 books I might read soon :)

Omar wrote: "hey everyone i am looking for something to read. you guys got suggestions?"
I think Omar is ready to tackle some Steven Erikson. I recommend starting with #2, Deadhouse Gates.

I finished Monette's short story collection, Somewhere Beneath Those Waves, which had some really lovely eldritch stories. And new words! I looked up subfusc and unheimlich.

Also finished Embassytown, which I enjoyed a lot. Good aliens, good narrator, weird words and jumping through time. And quite unpredictable.

Now I'm listening to Zoo City, although I don't really like the ghetto setting, but I'm still curious about the background.

I can't put down The Last Wish and just picked up The Blood of Elves for when I finish.

Rob wrote: "I can't put down The Last Wish and just picked up The Blood of Elves for when I finish."

I really hope that at some point the rest of the series makes its way into English.

Ha! I have 78.94 GB of ebooks alone. I have 946.44 GB in audio. This is not counting what is at Audible since I've been with them when they first started. *more boast of a crazy book hoarder*

Thurman wrote: "I have about 50 GB of books. But that includes audio and ebooks. I had to recently reboot my kindle so I can find stuff. I only uploaded the 100 books I might read soon :) "

I Just finished The Handmaid's Tale and am about to start Dead Harvest

Aloha wrote: "Ha! I have 78.94 GB of ebooks alone. I have 946.44 GB in audio. This is not counting what is at Audible since I've been with them when they first started. *more boast of a crazy book hoarder*

..."

I guess we are both digital hoarders lol. How do you keep track of what you want to read? I'm trying to keep less than 100 books on my kindles. Just to make sure I have something to read but not to much choice. Sometimes I find it easier to redownload a book then to try and find it. I use Calibre too but its not set up to handle 100,000+ books and 3 Kindles. You have any ideas for organazation.

I have my books nicely categorized at Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ. If I feel like a zombie book, I go under the zombie category. Of if I feel like a particular genre or author, I do that, too. I also have a "To Read Next" (1st tier) and a "To Read Soon" (2nd tier) so that I won't forget them and lose them in the 2,000+ books listed. Also, if a book is mentioned in a forum, I do a search on my computer to see whether I have it. That search function is a life saver, because I have not inputted all that I have. Sometimes my main drive fills up so quickly, I have to quickly pull the items into a folder on an external drive to sort later. All my audios are in one place nicely alphabetized, and all my eBooks are categorized first under genre, then author.

I often include an eBook with my audio folder since I pair eBook and audio whenever I can.

Aloha wrote: "I have my books nicely categorized at Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ. If I feel like a zombie book, I go under the zombie category. Of if I feel like a particular genre or author, I do that, too. I also have a "To R..."

Nice. I just joined Good reads. After spending the day here I wish I would have joined years ago. I guess I have to make Good Reads my primary source of book information. That way I can use it to organize my data. My problem has always been starting the process. I close my eyes and see all my books nicely organized, but i think of the time it will take and never start. But i've started, one book at a time. Eventually i will get there.

Yup. That's how I did it, and look where it got me! Good luck with organizing your stash, Thurman.

Just finished Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti and really liked it. Starting The Day Of The Triffids for a quick audio book side trek. Starting The Magician King and then on to Tigana.

Finished The Wind Through the Keyhole: A Dark Tower Novel. It was okay. The problem I have with the series is that it's uneven. Sometimes it's rousing good fun, other times I feel disconnected from it. The main problem is his arrangement. The main Roland crew, with Susanna and Eddie, often takes a backseat to the stories. Unlike faithful followers of the DT series who finished the series before WTK, I have not read any past this 4.5 book of the series. I was starting to connect with Roland, and a little bit with Susanna and Eddie, when another little story popped up that does not have Roland in it.

I prefer LOTR's smooth sequence of Frodo's journey. I was given time to connect with the main characters and care about what happens to them. The DT series makes it hard to stay connected with the main characters from book to book.

I have not had time to read my paper book, Mind Children: The Future of Robot and Human Intelligence, but it is an excellent read. I'm hoping to find more focused time to sit and eyeball the tiny print.

I'm starting Railsea.

I've been going through 11/22/63, but I'm strongly considering dropping it. Interesting premise, but most boring time-travel story.

Sergio wrote: "I've been going through 11/22/63, but I'm strongly considering dropping it. Interesting premise, but most boring time-travel story."

I find this novel to divide people. There are many tath just love the book, but I'm on the opposite side of the camp. I hated the book. I thought the middle was unneeded and could have been edited out. The whole book would have been better if it was a short story.

Piers Anthony wrote a book called Total Recall.
Which is based on the movie and the Philip K Dick short story.
It doesn't look like very many people read that book.
I plan to give that a shot...... when I get caught up.

I've just started reading Ibuse's 'Black Rain' for a post-war Japanese Literature class, and it's really...it's hard to find a positive adjective that doesn't sound wrong when applied to a book with such a bleak topic...compelling? It's about Hiroshima, but it doesn't seem to dwell too sentimentally on the tragic events, but rather seems a very honest and matter-of-fact account. I'm enjoying reading it so far.

I just finished Doorways in the Sand. This was a hard book to find. I wish they'd put Zelazny's works in ebook format already.

I just got Blackout, the last of the Feed trilogy by Mira Grant. I really like this series.
Also listening to Tigana, and have Orb Sceptre Throne waiting in the wings in hardcover for my Malazan fix.
Speaking of which...

kvon wrote: I think Omar is ready to tackle some Steven Erikson. I recommend starting with #2, Deadhouse Gates.

I know people think the first book is slow (I didn't), but I think you lose out on a lot of world building and character histories if you skip it.

Aeryn98 wrote: "I wish they'd put Zelazny's works in ebook format already."

Yes! A thousand times yes!

"Oh geez, now you made me loose my place."

I'm currently finishing up the name of the wind by Patrick Rothfuss.

Jocelyn wrote: "I'm currently finishing up the name of the wind by Patrick Rothfuss."

that's in my "taking to Europe" pile with The Brothers Karamazov, I'm almost half way through Sigler's "Nocturnal" right now, and enjoying the San Francisco shout-outs, particularly Trattorina Contadina

I'm reading Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb, Tigana and I will be starting and finishing Gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson this weekend for my book club. Phew!

I just finished The Hum and the Shiver (pretty awesome book, with only a few reservations) and, because I'm a masochist, I'm re-reading Gardens of the Moon because I barely made it through the first time and I'm still trying to convince myself that the series will be something I will eventually like. I ran out of steam on Deadhouse Gates, which everyone seems to love, so I'm going to give it another running start.

Finally reading Flashforward. Not what I was expecting but I'm liking it so far.

I finished Railsea, which was terrific, though not my personal preference. It's Mieville's YA, but I would say a brainy child's YA. This would be a great book for the classroom. If you like trains and adventure, I'd highly recommend this book. I would love to see a movie of this. It would be fantastic. The world building is amazing. The writing style is tight and almost flawless, but I prefer my YA storytelling to be whimsical and more lively, as if talking to a child.

I'm starting Beyond Boundaries: The New Neuroscience of Connecting Brains with Machines and How It Will Change Our Lives, which ties in with my recent interest in robotics.

I'm still working on Mind Children: The Future of Robot and Human Intelligence. It's a paper book, so it's slow going for me, since I can't use the text to speech feature. Most of my time is spent doing visual or physical work, so the paper reading is slow going. But whatever I can read is making my mind spin.

I predict that Railsea will be made into a movie. It has all the marks for a major special effects movie that appeals to all ages. It would probably be a big hit, too.

I just started 2312. Good so far. If you walk on Mercury, stay in the shadows.

Beyond Boundaries: The New Neuroscience of Connecting Brains with Machines and How It Will Change Our Lives is starting off as blah, blah, blah to me. So far, he's mostly talking about music, the history, etc., rather than the science. I prefer my science books to get to the heart of the matter. I'm hoping he'll eventually stop babbling and get to the science.

That's why Mind Children: The Future of Robot and Human Intelligence is so great. Everything he said is significant to robotic research. There were complaints that he should have hit upon social issues, etc., but I think there are plenty of laymen out there to do that. HIs book is lean and mean on robotics. That's the way I like it.

Added that to my reading list. I like to read new releases to stay current.

Tamahome wrote: "I just started 2312. Good so far. If you walk on Mercury, stay in the shadows."

Aloha wrote: "Added that to my reading list. I like to read new releases to stay current.

Tamahome wrote: "I just started 2312. Good so far. If you walk on Mercury, stay in the shadows.""

I treat a new book releases like a software release:) Once a few thousand people have tried it and voiced an opinion I will consider it. Buying a new book 'untested' isn't happening.

Live dangerously, Andrew. LOL. I'm usually on the trail of a reading obsession if I'm lucky, so by the time I read a new book, a few people have read and rated it. I don't need a few thousand, but a handful of opinions is good enough for me.

Kevin recommended Mieville's
Un Lun Dun, which I have. What don't I have? I'm looking through the eBook. I didn't know this, but Mieville is quite an illustrator! What does this man cannot do well?

Wrapped up The House on the Borderland and Other Mysterious Places by William Hope Hodgson -- no masterpieces, but surprisingly readable for 100 year old magazine fiction -- and started The Sword & Sorcery Anthology, which should be a lot more fun. I've read probably at least half of the stories in it before, but they're all good, and it even has brand new stories by Michael Shea and Michael Swanwick.

Micah wrote: "Joseph wrote: "Listening to Cormac McCarthy's The Road, first time I've listened to a whole book via audio that's not Roald Dahl :P.

A beautiful, shocking and depressing book, almost done and tru..."

Love that book, a must read for fathers.

Starting Treasure Island tomorrow, in keeping with my current obsession with classics. I recently watched the SyFy(never feels okay typing that silly name) mini-series featuring Elijah Wood and enjoyed it quite a bit.

Have started the third Marid Audran book The Exile Kiss.

The Man Who Crossed Worlds as a Library Thing Member Giveaway.
Gabriel's Ghost for the Vaginal Fantasy book club.
Unshapely Things as my 2nd floor book (I have a book in a few rooms/levels of the house so I can just read when the urge strikes me rather than go hunt down a book then get distracted by something else along the way).
On my phone I just started reading Doomed: Tales of the Last Days, a series of flash fiction stories.

Just finished The Dragon's Path which was very good and I am looking forward to book 2.

With the Americans having a day off on Monday that's taking down some of my podcasts and Frogpants being severely cut back with Scott Johnson's week off, I'll be listening to a lot of audio books next week.



Return of the Jedi Radio Drama

I just finished Retribution Falls by Chris Wooding (a lot of fun) and dived right into a whole bunch of other books.

The Freedom Maze: a novel by Delia Sherman
Besieged by Rowena Cory Daniells
and of course:

I am 3/4 through Beyond Boundaries: The New Neuroscience of Connecting Brains with Machines and How It Will Change Our Lives, and this book is mind blowing! Here is a link that Warren posted that illustrates the fruit of BMI (brain machine interface) research.



When I started the book, I was afraid it was going to be a book that has more history than science, but this book soon moved to illustrating the BMI research in an easy to understand yet informative way. Besides medical purposes, he mentioned the possibility of being able to use the robot body as an extension of our mind. Imagine being able to sit in your living room chair and exploring with robotic eyes and senses the terrain of a distant and uninhabitable planet as if you're really there. The brain has the ability to extend the sense of self, as research has shown.

I highly recommend this mind blowing book that anybody with a high school education in biology can read.

Dharmakirti wrote: "I just started reading Catherynne Valente's The Habitation of the Blessed and it is AMAZING!"

I just finished The Habitation of the Blessed and it sorta rocked my world. I will definately be reading more Catherynne Valente!

I am about 100 pages into N.K. Jemisin's The Killing Moon and I'm enjoying it very much.

I also recently started Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City, the first novel I've read by this author. It's a type of novel that I would not typically read, but after subjecting my co-worker to some of my favorite books, it's only right that I read one of her favorites.