What are you Reading Now?

[Lisselle]

I work in a school Library (Kindy to year 12) so I read a LOT of kids books! (I have to be able to recommend books for each child who is interested in reading) Whilst I love to read Tolkien, Asimov, Herbert, and the classic Fantasy SciFi writers, at the moment I'm mainly reading YA fiction. (The HSC is on and the teenagers need light reading to help with the stress.)

I've just finished the 'Immortal Beloved' Series, by Cate Tiernan, and 'Fairytales for Wild Girls', by Allyse Near, which I loved. (First book by an Aussie Author.)

For myself I have 'Atomised' to read, which was recommended by one of the Teachers at our school, and I can never read 'The Lord of the Rings' too many times! I'm also reading a new Fantasy called 'Six of Crows' by Leigh Bardugo, and 'The Diabolic', by SJ Kincaid, though these will take a while.

 

[DragonOfTheAerie]

I work in a school Library (Kindy to year 12) so I read a LOT of kids books! (I have to be able to recommend books for each child who is interested in reading) Whilst I love to read Tolkien, Asimov, Herbert, and the classic Fantasy SciFi writers, at the moment I'm mainly reading YA fiction. (The HSC is on and the teenagers need light reading to help with the stress.)

I've just finished the 'Immortal Beloved' Series, by Cate Tiernan, and 'Fairytales for Wild Girls', by Allyse Near, which I loved. (First book by an Aussie Author.)

For myself I have 'Atomised' to read, which was recommended by one of the Teachers at our school, and I can never read 'The Lord of the Rings' too many times! I'm also reading a new Fantasy called 'Six of Crows' by Leigh Bardugo, and 'The Diabolic', by SJ Kincaid, though these will take a while.

^Six of Crows is fantastic in my opinion.

 

[TheCrystallineEntity]

^What's it about?

 

[Demesnedenoir]

I gave up on The Name of the Wind for the time being... snooze... and switched to Red Dragon... Oh sure, it's not a fantasy, but it does have a dragon in the title, heh heh. Then I'll probably read Silence of the Lambs, seeing as I loved the movie waaaay back when.

 

[TheCrystallineEntity]

I might read Fire and Hemlock again--for probably the twentieth time.

Or, since I seem to be in the need of solace...The Tale of Beren and Luthien.

 

[Mythopoet]

Or, since I seem to be in the need of solace...The Tale of Beren and Luthien.

You know what's particularly great when you need soothing? Listening to the audio version of The Sil. Complete and Unabridged and narrated by Martin Shaw who has the perfect voice for it, deep and resonant. I love it.

 

[skip.knox]

Reading Senlin Ascends, by Josiah Bancroft. It's a curious book, very well written. A schoolmaster and his new wife honeymoon at the Tower of Babel. He loses her in the crowd early on, and the rest of the book is his search for her. The settings and tone are roughly Edwardian, and his turns of phrase can be downright poetic. I'm a quarter of the way through and am very much enjoying it.

The book is a great example of something traditional publishing would likely never touch, to everyone's loss.

 

[Russ]

I gave up on The Name of the Wind for the time being... snooze... and switched to Red Dragon... Oh sure, it's not a fantasy, but it does have a dragon in the title, heh heh. Then I'll probably read Silence of the Lambs, seeing as I loved the movie waaaay back when.

I think Red Dragon is very underrated. And I loved the soundtrack for the movie.

I have been reading a lot of thrillers lately myself, and getting a lot out of them.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

I tend to use a lot of thriller aspects. In fact, if you look at the genre of my writing through a different lense, that of Coyne's Story Grid (if my memory is functioning) I write thrillers in a fantasy (epic) setting. I personally kind of saw it that way when I started, also horror aspects.

I've never seen the entire movie, which makes the read more interesting. The only trouble is that whereas it was probably more groundbreaking in 1981, the FBI BAU has been used so much and this book more or less copied so many times, it's become predictable as heck. The writing is tight and clean, not exactly my most preferred style, but strong.

I think Red Dragon is very underrated. And I loved the soundtrack for the movie.

I have been reading a lot of thrillers lately myself, and getting a lot out of them.

 

[Russ]

I tend to use a lot of thriller aspects. In fact, if you look at the genre of my writing through a different lense, that of Coyne's Story Grid (if my memory is functioning) I write thrillers in a fantasy (epic) setting. I personally kind of saw it that way when I started, also horror aspects.

I've never seen the entire movie, which makes the read more interesting. The only trouble is that whereas it was probably more groundbreaking in 1981, the FBI BAU has been used so much and this book more or less copied so many times, it's become predictable as heck. The writing is tight and clean, not exactly my most preferred style, but strong.

Absolutely, i am completely BAU'ed out at the moment.

Currently I am really enjoying Greg Isles Natchez Burning trilogy. Seriously that guy was born to write that trilogy. Best stuff of any sort I have read in a few years.

Also been enjoying some historical and WWII thrillers recently. Gross' "The One Man" really stands out.

Just finished reading "Story Engineering." Thinking Save the Cat and perhaps that Story Grid would make a worthwhile read as well.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

Save the Cat is a classic from my screenwriting days, and Story Grid is one of the better books I've looked at in a long time. Most books on structure are (in one way or another) just another way to look at modern 3 act structure, with bit and pieces being different. While Story Grid works within the structure, it is more of an analysis system for a finished work, to answer the questions: does this work and if not why? His take is as an editor, not a writer, which I find more interesting these days. He borrows heavily from McKee (who's focus is screenwriting) as they've worked together on projects.

I've been around too long and read too many things to say its revolutionary, but it's damned good at reminding you of things that might have slipped to the back of your mind, and gives you a process to examine your work. I can't even say I changed a single thing in the book I'll be sending around soon because of this book, but using his process of breaking down chapter (scene) by chapter and looking at the book from outside the simplistic lens of "genre: fantasy" lends another tool to see if I missed something somewhere. I take it back, I amped up one little piece of a scene, added a few lines of dialogue that I got the idea for from thinking of the book as a thriller.

The cool thing about it is not looking at the scene simply as "no, no and, yes, but" but to look at them directly as a part of the character arch... the character must have a change in their situation, emotional or physical state, threat, or whatever. It's a slightly different way of looking at the "tension" aspect of story writing that gives you +/- notation for what's going on. More to it of course, and he breaks down Silence of the Lambs, which is fun.

Absolutely, i am completely BAU'ed out at the moment.

Currently I am really enjoying Greg Isles Natchez Burning trilogy. Seriously that guy was born to write that trilogy. Best stuff of any sort I have read in a few years.

Also been enjoying some historical and WWII thrillers recently. Gross' "The One Man" really stands out.

Just finished reading "Story Engineering." Thinking Save the Cat and perhaps that Story Grid would make a worthwhile read as well.

 

[Chessie]

Story Grid is super chewy but has been instrumental in shifting how I now view scenes. Breaking it down the way he did was awesome, a blessing. It's made pantsing my scenes that much easier. !

So, Russ. Read it! You won't regret it.

 

[pmmg]

Have moved on to American Gods by Neil Gaimon. Never been a groupie of anyone, and I've known many who speak of him as some type of writer God. I will say, I find he did get me engaged, and oddly, he opened the book with Profanity, which usually turns me off. It continues in the book, and I do find it odd, cause I could not stand Steven King for this reason, but I don't seem to mind with Mr. Gaimon. I am wondering what is different.

 

[Garren Jacobsen]

Just finished Blood Mirror. Just ordered from the library a book about an associate attorney who is to bring a dead god back to life with the magic of bankruptcy.

 

[Russ]

Just finished Blood Mirror. Just ordered from the library a book about an associate attorney who is to bring a dead god back to life with the magic of bankruptcy.

That is BS. No one short of a equity partner can raise the dead.

 

[Garren Jacobsen]

That is BS. No one short of a equity partner can raise the dead.

It is a fantasy story Russ.

 

[TheCrystallineEntity]

^Or was he making a joke? I don't know.

I'm reading the Silverwing series again.

The Infernal Devices trilogy is a bit of a 'guilty pleasure' for me to read, mainly because in retrospect it doesn't seem that good at all, but I might just read it again soon anyway.

 

[Tom]

Why did I decide rereading the entire 41-book-long Discworld series was a good idea? As of right now I've just wrapped up The Light Fantastic and am waiting for Equal Rites to come in at the library. The Rincewind arc isn't as good as some of the later books, but I still enjoy it. It's fun to see where Pratchett considered taking his style and played with it a bit before he really struck the tone he'd maintain throughout the rest of the series. I also rediscovered my all-time favorite Discworld pun:

“Yes, yes,” said Bethan, sitting down glumly. “I know you don’t. Rincewind, all the shops have been smashed open, there was a whole bunch of people across the street helping themselves to musical instruments, can you believe that?”

“Yeah,” said Rincewind, picking up a knife and testing its blade thoughtfully. “Luters, I expect.”

 

[Mythopoet]

Why did I decide rereading the entire 41-book-long Discworld series was a good idea? As of right now I've just wrapped up The Light Fantastic and am waiting for Equal Rites to come in at the library. The Rincewind arc isn't as good as some of the later books, but I still enjoy it. It's fun to see where Pratchett considered taking his style and played with it a bit before he really struck the tone he'd maintain throughout the rest of the series. I also rediscovered my all-time favorite Discworld pun:

That pun is downright painful. I read the series originally in publication order. But now I just reread whichever one I'm in the mood for or haven't reread for a while. I couldn't count how many times I've reread some of the Discworld books. I've reread them all at least once. Always good stuff. Sir Terry has helped me through a lot of stressful times by helping me get immersed in his wacky world.

 

[TheCrystallineEntity]

^So far I've only read The Wee Free Men, Carpe Jugulum, and Making Money. Rincewind and Death are my favourite characters, so I might try finding some of their books.