What are you Reading Now?

[BronzeOracle]

I've just started reading The Stand by Stephen King. I normally don't read contemporary settings but I have some writer friends who are reading it at present so we are doing a mini book-club/study circle together. It is a huge book (1300 pages paperback) but so far I am loving the way how he portrays characters - he really gets under their skin and reading the book is challenging me to probe further with the characters I am writing in my novel.

 

[Mythopoet]

I just borrowed Patrick Rothfuss' Name of the Wind from the library. I'm kind of apprehensive about starting it, as it clocks in at an intimidating 662 pages. Not sure I'll be able to read it during Camp NaNo!

Hey, what do you guys think of The Name of the Wind, or Patrick Rothfuss' writing in general?

I enjoyed The Name of the Wind for the most part. Though it did start getting tedious. I began wondering "when is all that cool stuff mentioned toward the beginning going to happen?" I figured it would start in earnest in book 2. Book 2 turned out to be one long boring tedious dreadful piece of indulgence. I will probably read book 3 because I do want to know some of the mysteries of the series. But I won't pay for it. I'll just get it from the library.

 

[Ayaka Di'rutia]

I'm reading Dragonwitch by Anne Elisabeth Stengl. It's the 5th book in her Tales of Goldstone Wood series. It's not her best work so far, but I'm going to keep reading and see where it goes.

 

[Mythopoet]

I finally finished Dracula. It was quite long and the conceit of it being comprised totally of journal entries with a few other memoranda here and there became less and less believable as the story progressed. Yes, sure, I totally believe that 3 different characters have such incredible memories that they can transcribe, word for word, Van Helsing's ridiculously long, meandering speeches, bad grammar and all. Speaking of Van Helsing's ridiculously long, meandering speeches, they really began to wear thin after a while. Honestly, Bram Stoker's writing just wasn't very good. There were parts where the story was exciting enough to cover up for it, and parts which were so tedious and belabored that I really noticed it. I had to set the book aside a few times to give myself a break before digging in again.

Still, I can see why it's a masterwork of horror. I read a few different, earlier vampire stories before reading Dracula and this definitely increased the the dreadfulness of the monster while keeping it much more mysterious than modern vampire stories. In particular, I loved how no one really knew how Dracula had become a vampire. It seemed to be saying that he was not made a vampire by anyone else nor suggesting that becoming a vampire was some kind of natural process. Dracula, Van Helsing surmised, became a vampire progenitor through a unique combination of factors: the land on which he lived being home to both holy ground and occult forces and Dracula himself being an exceptional, "larger-than-life" person while he lived. I found it particularly fascinating that even while the vampire was certainly a creature of evil and darkness and was defeated by Holy objects (such as the communion Wafer), his existence was nonetheless tied to Holy Ground. He had to take boxes of dirt from Holy Ground with him when he traveled to England and it was this Holy Ground that he was compelled to sleep on, whether in the boxes of dirt while he was away from home or in his own tomb in the chapel of Castle Dracula. This seems to be a unique element of the vampire myth or at least I haven't heard of it being used anywhere else, even in retellings of Dracula. I find it fascinating.

Next on my reading list is finishing Urth of the New Sun (the conclusion of The Book of the New Sun story) which I started on one of my breaks from Dracula.

After that, I got my hands on print or ebook versions of:

Titus Groan by Mervyn Peak (not looking forward to this, but it's a fantasy classic, so I want to get it under my belt)

The Face in the Frost by John Bellairs

The first Lyonesse series book by Jack Vance

Red Moon and Black Mountain by Joy Chant

Jirel of Joiry story collection by C. L. Moore

Well of the Unicorn by Fletcher Pratt

The Tritonian Ring by L. Sprague de Camp

Those are all from my master fantasy reading list. Trying to make some actual progress on it this year.

I also picked up some books for studying Japanese mythology and folklore:

The Nihongi, an ancient chronicle of Japan

Shinto Norito, a book of Shinto prayers

Japanese Tales of Mystery and Imagination

My initial steps into studying Japanese mythology had a huge influence on me and my worldbuilding, so I'm digging deeper. It's all so fascinating.

 

[thedarknessrising]

A couple days ago, I absentmindedly picked up Eragon just to kind of flip through. I ended up just deciding to read the series again for the hundredth time. I love those books. Yes, Paolini's writing is weak, but I'm not much better myself. I'm only on the first book, but I should hopefully have the series finished within a week.

 

[Reilith]

I finally finished the original Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson, and now I am mid-way of Blood Song, the first of Raven's Shadow by Anthony Ryan and I am finding myself liking it a lot. It is a bit different than what I am used to with the grittiness being the central of it, and the religious conflict taking up much of the plot, but the characters are interesting and colorful and there are a lot of twists that keep you on your toes.

 

[Trick]

I just finished The Shadow of What Was Lost, first of the Licanius Trilogy. I really enjoyed it - felt like Jordan was back but managed to be less wordy and meandering.

I just started the Dragons of Dorcastle, mostly because it's somewhat in genre with my WIP, but i'm not sure sure how much I like it. It's short so I'll finish it and decide then if I should read the next one.

 

[skrite]

Just started reading "Enter, Night", by Michael Rowe. Delightfully terrifying.

 

[Tom]

Taking another crack at The Silmarillion. I love it, but I've never been able to finish it before. Hopefully I can get through the whole thing this time without losing focus.

I'm also reading The Young Elites by Marie Lu. So good. Marie Lu has this amazing ability to write suspense and action--her fight scenes are some of the best I've read, and her books always keep me on the edge of my seat.

 

[skrite]

Taking another crack at The Silmarillion. I love it, but I've never been able to finish it before. Hopefully I can get through the whole thing this time without losing focus.

ditto, and good luck

 

[Mythopoet]

Taking another crack at The Silmarillion. I love it, but I've never been able to finish it before. Hopefully I can get through the whole thing this time without losing focus.

If you can afford it, I strongly recommend the audiobook version for those who have a hard time making it through the book. I love the narrator's voice.

 

[Tom]

I prefer reading to listening, because I'm a weird reader. I skip around, going back to earlier passages, rereading pages maybe twice or more, noting sentences that stand out to me. I'm also very visual. I need to see the words to really get the book. For me, listening to a book is like catching snowflakes--the words only stick in my mind for a short time before they melt away. I recall books I've physically read much better.

 

[Gurkhal]

At the moment I read "A short history of the middle ages" by Barbara H. Rosenwein.

And before that I read the Island of the Dead by Bernard Cornwell (or whatever his name is )

 

[Mythopoet]

Finished The Face in the Frost by John Bellairs yesterday. It was quite a good book though the climax was a bit too vague and didn't have nearly enough explanation for my taste. Still I really enjoyed the book. It was a refreshing change from the more ponderous books I've been reading lately. It's one of the only books Bellairs wrote for an adult audience and unfortunately because his youth series were so popular he never got around to writing the sequel he sometimes talked about. Still, highly recommended.

I'll probably move on to the Jirel of Joiry stories next and keep working through Urth of the New Sun on the side.

 

[TheCatholicCrow]

I prefer reading to listening, because I'm a weird reader. I skip around, going back to earlier passages, rereading pages maybe twice or more, noting sentences that stand out to me. I'm also very visual. I need to see the words to really get the book. For me, listening to a book is like catching snowflakes--the words only stick in my mind for a short time before they melt away. I recall books I've physically read much better.

Yeah I totally get you there ... I thought I'd kill 2 birds & listens to some of the Classics while doing dishes but I found that most of the books I tried had readers that rushed right through the text. I want it to be read slightly faster than poetry and possibly slower than a (California-paced) conversation. When they rush right through it only gives you enough time to process the plot. You don't get to enjoy the language and style of the author which I consider to be a vital component of the book. After a week or so of trying (with a bunch of different books) I eventually gave up. I'm still reading Classics but in print or on kindle.

I often find it difficult to commit to just book at a time so I'm currently reading Dumas' Camille as well as Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen - not the zombie one) ... also a book on post-soviet Romanian farming practices but that's nonfiction and just for fun so idk if that counts.

Next on my TO READ list are Kafka's Metamorphosis - since I've never had the pleasure, Sorrows of Young Werther, Don Quixote, War and Peace, Atlas Shrugged, Dead Souls (N. Gogol), and the librettos for Fidelio and Don Giovanni.

Of course there'll be some Fantasy books sprinkled in between for good measure and because I'm trying to actively expose myself to more contemporary works as well. I've never read anything by Stephen King and my father's encouraging me to give Tom Clancy a shot. Different is good - right?

When I read something wildly outside of my comfort zone I follow it up by rewarding myself with a Classic.

 

[Mythopoet]

Yeah I totally get you there ... I thought I'd kill 2 birds & listens to some of the Classics while doing dishes but I found that most of the books I tried had readers that rushed right through the text. I want it to be read slightly faster than poetry and possibly slower than a (California-paced) conversation. When they rush right through it only gives you enough time to process the plot. You don't get to enjoy the language and style of the author which I consider to be a vital component of the book.

Yeah, I don't listen to audiobooks at all either. Not my style. The Silmarillion is the only one. Particularly because the narrator has such a deep, rich voice and really does take his time with the prose. And the prose of The Sil is so perfect for this medium. It's written in a style that in the right hands really makes you feel like you're listening to a court bard recounting epic tales.

 

[Tom]

I want it to be read slightly faster than poetry and possibly slower than a (California-paced) conversation.

How fast is a California-paced conversation? I'm imagining it's about the same speed as a New York conversation, which is pretty fast. An author at a writing retreat I went to in West Virginia told me that my dialogue is fast-paced, and that makes it sound unrealistic--but that's just the way I talk! (Plus, West Virginians sort of drawl.)

 

[Incanus]

TheCatholicCrow--I read Kafka's Metamorphisis about 7 or 8 months ago or so, along with a few other shorts of his. Absolutely loved it. Beautiful surreal story.

I'm (slowly) reading Prince of Thorns (Mark Lawrence) right now. I must admit, the writing is better than I expected: very tight and polished. Some aspects of the story are... well, less than awesome, but I'm willing to go along.

Speaking of Dumas, next up for me is going to be The Three Musketeers, an unabridged edition. I hope the translation is decent, 'cause that can make or break the reading experience.

That audio of the Sil Mythopoet is talking about sounds cool. I've only done audio once. Not my thing I guess, but Mytho is making the audio Sil sound pretty enticing.

 

[Russ]

Just finished Story Trumps Structure by Stephen James.

Dude is a genius. He has almost converted me from being a plotter to a pantser.

Almost.

Also reading some old Moorcock from the 60's. Great stuff at any length.

 

[skrite]

Also reading some old Moorcock from the 60's. Great stuff at any length.

Agreed, just read the first Elric book again a couple of months ago. Just amazing.