Literature What are you currently reading?

[Lou]

So I'm listening to the audio book of The House in the Cerulean Sea, and I'm enjoying it. but thought it was worth noting that the narrator does all the characters with different voices. He is pretty good at it too.

"Daniel Henning is a great narrator for this quirky and theatrical audiobook...Henning revels in a cornucopia of characters, diving into nuanced voices and colorful moments with accents and growls, tone shifts and whispers...​

The House in the Cerulean Sea

us.macmillan.com

 

[Chryssie]

Today I finished "Cell" by Robin Cook. Even though this book is 10 years old, it is pretty relevant today as it is about an app for the phone called iDoc that literally replaces doctors. And it learns and it makes decisions. We have seen an increase in telemedicine since the pandemic and this book takes this to a whole new level. Of course it is a thriller and scary!

 

[silva]

So I'm listening to the audio book of The House in the Cerulean Sea, and I'm enjoying it. but thought it was worth noting that the narrator does all the characters with different voices. He is pretty good at it too.

"Daniel Henning is a great narrator for this quirky and theatrical audiobook...Henning revels in a cornucopia of characters, diving into nuanced voices and colorful moments with accents and growls, tone shifts and whispers...​

The House in the Cerulean Sea

us.macmillan.com

I really loved that audio book, the narration was fantastic! I had the whole thing visualised.
I also had the audiobook, same author, The Whispering Door. It involved after death, and while again good narration, I was a bit iffy about the story, but I'm just not much for the subject.

 

[Andy_T]

Haven't been to the forum for quite some time, and have been reading a lot of Science Fiction in the meantime.
I found the awesome James H. Schmitz and read most of his works, from the "Witches of Karres" series, over Telzey/Trigger and am now finally on "Agent of Vega" that is about a VEGAN agent (from the planet Vega, not ethically eschewing animal products, as he wrote this in the 1960s).

On the fantasy front, I re-read Lois McMaster Bujold's "Chalion" series and started with her "Penric" series.

That, in turn, also motivated me to re-read another of my favourite SF series, her "Miles Vorkosigan" series.
I do enjoy re-reading books I had read earlier, as it is nice to meet old acquaintances, and also reduces the spendings on literature a little bit.

 

[PTree15]

Nice to see you, @Andy_T!

 

[Andy_T]

Was I gone THAT long? Sigh.

 

[Lou]

On the fantasy front, I re-read Lois McMaster Bujold's "Chalion" series and started with her "Penric" series.

I have read and reread Chalion. Also have listened to the audio books as my bedtime stories.
And I just Love Penric. Just bought and consumed her latest, Demon's Daughter. It was so good.

I rarely buy books but I've bought all the Penric e-books as soon as they hit Amazon. Partly because they are so cheap but also there is such a long period of time between the e-books release and finding them on the library shelf. I justify them by the fact that they are cheaper than a movie and last twice as long.

The Penric books all started life as e-books. They are almost all novellas. Many of them have been bundled together and published as hard covers - then you sometimes find them at the library.

I don't know if it has a name but her talent for making lovable characters is outstanding.

That, in turn, also motivated me to re-read another of my favourite SF series, her "Miles Vorkosigan" series.

I wasn't immediately won over to Miles. I'm not sure which was the first book in the series I read. But I'm a fan now and have read or reread all the books in the correct "internal order". Miles really grows on you. Also the character development (both kinds) are a pleasure to watch. The World Building is also subtle but comprehensive.

If you haven't read them already, I highly recommend her Wide Green Earth series. It starts with the Sharing Knife.

 

[Raven]

I started the Harlan Coben book last night, but I only read about 50 pages as I was tired.

I charged my kindle and I forgot that I had bought two of the Housemaid books as I saw them get good reviews. I might start one of them today. There are 4 of them so I will have to check I read them in order.

 

[Chryssie]

I read another Mary Kay Andrews book called "Hello Summer." I really liked it and will continue reading her novels. This one takes place in the Florida panhandle in a small town where a young journalist who lost a big city job, returns to the family's newspaper business. There is lots of family drama, some romance, and a mystery as well when an elderly statesman dies in a suspicious car accident.

 

[Raven]

The Housemaid was really good, I finished it in one day as I am trying to limit my screen time. I am going to start the second one today. The Housemaid's Secret. I thought they are stand alone books, but I'm not going to look at any reviews until I have finished this one.

The Housemaid (The Housemaid, #1) by Freida McFadden | Goodreads

 

[Chryssie]

The Housemaid was really good, I finished it in one day as I am trying to limit my screen time. I am going to start the second one today. The Housemaid's Secret. I thought they are stand alone books, but I'm not going to look at any reviews until I have finished this one.

The Housemaid (The Housemaid, #1) by Freida McFadden | Goodreads

That looks really good! I will see if the library has it.

 

[Tom L.]

I read another Mary Kay Andrews book called "Hello Summer." I really liked it and will continue reading her novels. This one takes place in the Florida panhandle in a small town where a young journalist who lost a big city job, returns to the family's newspaper business. There is lots of family drama, some romance, and a mystery as well when an elderly statesman dies in a suspicious car accident.

Sounds like the story has something for everyone! (Except me... If it doesn't have an extraterrestrial alien or two, hopefully a spaceship, hopefully little or no violence, and some techy/geeky details- which are still okay with me even if I have a hard time understanding them- I find it hard to get immersed... usually.)

 

[SuicideBlonde]

I picked out 2 random books because I had none on hold "I'll take you there" Wally Lamb and Mirrorland" by Caroline Johnson. Years ago I read a couple Wally Lamb books (She's come undone and I know this much is true) and enjoyed them, but don't know of the other Author.

 

[Raven]

I did like the second Housemaid book and I have preordered the third one. I can imagine them as Netflix series!

I'm half way through the Harlan Coben book. I'm reading a lot, it is nice to sit in bed at night and read instead of watching YT videos like I do normally.

 

[KellecoUK]

Not the best night-time reading, but I'm currently half way through "Changing Our Minds" by Naomi Fisher. An amazing look at how children can take control of their own learning. As a home schooler for my son, it's been a great help!

 

[Chryssie]

I just finished "Walk the Wire" by David Baldacci. It was a really good thriller with lots of murder, action, and government conspiracies. It is one of the Memory Man series about Amos Decker who is a FBI agent.

 

[Raven]

I started another good book today called The Flatmate by Gemma Rogers. I have been finding some decent books on Prime reading. I looked to see if my library had any more of her books and have reserved one called The Feud.

 

[Lou]

I started the audio book, Poor Things. The basic story is the same as the movie, which I started but have put it aside for now. But the book seems to be all narration. and the movie is not.
Still too early for a judgement but I think I'm going to like them both.

 

[Raven]

I started another good book today called The Flatmate by Gemma Rogers. I have been finding some decent books on Prime reading. I looked to see if my library had any more of her books and have reserved one called The Feud.

I got a message this morning that The Feud is there for me already!

I did start another one of hers called Stalker last night. It has made me want to look through Prime Reading again and see what other authors I might be missing that I would like, but haven't heard about.

Stalker by Gemma Rogers, Paperback | Barnes & Noble®

 

[Andy_T]

If you haven't read them already, I highly recommend her Wide Green Earth series. It starts with the Sharing Knife.

I was just looking at starting this! Thanks for helping me make up my mind!

Have you tried out James H. Schmitz yet? (I recently mentioned him here).

James H. Schmitz - Wikipedia

As an appetizer, here's one of his "Agent of Vega" short stories, "Planet of Forgetting", to read online in the original 1965 magazine version:

Galaxy v23n03 (1965 02) : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

In the re-issued version of this story that I read first, they have removed the references to astronauts smoking cigarettes. But it is still a great read.