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What are you Reading Now?

Eduardo Ficaria

Troubadour
Currently reading a non-fiction historical book about the Visigoths. It tells their story from their migration from what is now Scandinavia, through their relationship with the Roman empire, their power struggles, and the last kingdom they founded in Spain before falling prey to the islamic invasion of the Iberian peninsula in the VIII century CE. Truly a time of wars and murder of kings!

And just before that, I finished a "The Hainish novels and stories" anthology by Ursula K. Le Guin. Interesting stuff, anthropological scifi with some fantasy brushes (in the first stories at least).
 

neodoering

Minstrel
And just before that, I finished a "The Hainish novels and stories" anthology by Ursula K. Le Guin. Interesting stuff, anthropological scifi with some fantasy brushes (in the first stories at least).[/QUOTE]

You might try Ursula LeGuin's work, Always Coming Home. It too is an anthropological work, set in the near future when our society has collapsed and small communities struggle to survive on the Pacific coast.
 

Mythopoet

Auror
And just before that, I finished a "The Hainish novels and stories" anthology by Ursula K. Le Guin. Interesting stuff, anthropological scifi with some fantasy brushes (in the first stories at least).

Woah, thanks for mentioning this. I've ready "Semley's Necklace" in a short story collection and really enjoyed it. Didn't know there was more! I have to read these now.
 

Eduardo Ficaria

Troubadour
Woah, thanks for mentioning this. I've ready "Semley's Necklace" in a short story collection and really enjoyed it. Didn't know there was more! I have to read these now.
Yes, there's MUCH more. For starters, Semley's Necklace is just a part of a longer novella called Rocannon's World, which is the first story of them all. The anthology I've read is this one by The Library of America, complete with some introductions, articles and notes (even maps) by Le Guin herself. Be aware that she wrote all these stories in a wide time interval, starting in 1966 up till 2000, so you'll notice an evolution in the style, themes and some lack of internal coherence among them.
 

skip.knox

toujours gai, archie
Moderator
I have fond memories of Rocannon's World. It was in an Ace paperback, in the day when they would publish two novellas in a single volume, reversed. One cover on the front, the other on the back. You can see the format here
41gqNvpqkxL._SX284_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg


The other story is The Kar-Chee Reign by Avram Davidson, part of another classic series.

I haven't seen this cover in a long time. It looks terrible cheesy now, and the blurb at the top isn't much better. Gee, thanks, publisher, you sure earned your percentage there!
 

Gurkhal

Auror
Life is a most curious thing. I used to hate e-books and now I am reading more e-books than normal books.

Anyway, finished "Lessons Learned from the Use of the Machine Gun during the Russo-Japanese War" and "Russian soldier vs Japanese soldier: Manchuria 1904-05".

I think that for my own sake its better to not try to predict what I will read but instead just, read whatever I feel like and is interested in at the moment. I wish I could plan better but apparently I can't.
 
I've recently finished Sunbolt and Memories of Ash. I thought they were pretty good, they were different. Both were written using first-person PoV and in present tense.
Also the Phoenix Host, it was an interesting read but not one of my favorites.

Still, waiting for the seventh book in the City Between Series, due to come out in September-October. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it. Also, Rhythm of War is coming out in November and I can't wait to read it! Again, I highly recommend it.
 

Insolent Lad

Maester
I'm reading Puck of Pook's Hill. Somehow, despite being a Kipling fan (I consider The Jungle Books to be a formative childhood experience) I had missed this one, maybe because it is a 'children's book.' Anyway, I hadn't known how much it influenced Tolkien. Puck, physically, is a hobbit, right down to his hairy feet! But there is much more of him in the character of Tom Bombadil, another old one who has lingered in the world of men.
 

Silvahkir

Dreamer
I recently started studying modern poetry. As I meditated on T.S Eliot and Yeats, I realized that I should go back and read the foundational texts. I am already familiar with the Hebrew scriptures, from of narrative and poetry perspective, so now I am going back to the Iliad. I do a good bit of flitting about though, and am interested in how poetry is woven into narratives like the Dragon Age games, Skyrim, and of course I have to mention Lord of the Rings.
 

Insolent Lad

Maester
I've started on 'The Wood Beyond the World' by William Morris, a novel which it could be argued was the very first 'modern fantasy,’ written well before Tolkien, or even Dunsany. Certainly, world building as we know it now started there--the first self-contained, quasi-medieval, and completely invented fantasy world. I read the Ballantine edition way back; I was probably in my twenties. I’m going through the (free) ebook from Project Gutenberg now.
 

Insolent Lad

Maester
What with it being its hundredth anniversary of publication, I reread David Lindsay's 'A Voyage to Arcturus.' Maybe the first novel of 'literary fantasy' ever. It's certainly chock-full of 'ideas,' but manages to be a decent story anyway.
 

AMObst

Dreamer
I've read a few crackingly good books over the last few months - some recent and some older than I'm only just catching up on. Those I've particularly enjoyed include:
  • Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri
  • The Dark Archive by Genevieve Cogman (latest in the fun Invisible Library series)
  • The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by VE Schwab
  • Unconquerable Sun by Kate Elliott (SF Space Opera by one of my favourite authors and world builders)
  • The Pursuit of William Abbey by Clare North
  • This Thing of Darkness by Harry Bingham (a contemporary crime thriller featuring one of the most compelling heroines I've come across)
 
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