What is on the bedside table: Favourite books

[AndyP]

Ember in the Ashes, a lot happens in a short novel. Essentially traditional story of guy who is destined to be the leader of the opressors, has a change of heart, saves the oppressed...well doesn't really in the end but tries to. Fantasy style, swords etc but set more in a hot sandy land. Worth a look.

Did you know that there was a sequel?

[Slothman]

Did you know that there was a sequel?

No...no I didn't. Will be looking for that one tomorrow. A torch against the night....

Its funny because as I finished it I had a heap of unanswered questions...but still thought the mains story was covered enough....glad there is sequels

[Captain Nemo]

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[jimandr]

I'll bump this thread in honour of a book I've just finished which is one of the best I've ever read. But first the other stuff.

I've got a couple of different sci-fi series on the go where frustratingly I'm missing one book of three. So I'll leave The Uplift Trilogy and The Praxis Series until I eventually find the missing pieces.

I did manage to plough through and eventually finish Permutation City by Greg Egan. This is the type of book that gave science fiction a bad name. All science and hardly any fiction.

But the latest coffee table style book I got from the library to accompany a novel turned out to be major bonus. Any Pink Floyd fan simply must read Inside Out, by Nick Mason. Any fan of 60's or 70's or even 80's music should read it as it is full of anecdotes of Nick Mason's encounters with other parts of the music business. He is a terrific writer with a great eye and memory for detail. By far the best music memoir book I have ever read.

[AndyP]

No...no I didn't. Will be looking for that one tomorrow. A torch against the night....

Its funny because as I finished it I had a heap of unanswered questions...but still thought the mains story was covered enough....glad there is sequels

Bugger, I just got this off Amazon, then found out that it is actually a trilogy, with the third book unreleased. I might hold off on reading it for a little while.

I just finished the Fool's Assassin trilogy by Robin Hobb, and really enjoyed that one also. There really isn't that much that happens overall in the series, as it is more about character development and interaction, and I found that the main character was more likeable than what he was in the first series.

[Slothman]

Bugger, I just got this off Amazon, then found out that it is actually a trilogy, with the third book unreleased. I might hold off on reading it for a little while.

I just finished the Fool's Assassin trilogy by Robin Hobb, and really enjoyed that one also. There really isn't that much that happens overall in the series, as it is more about character development and interaction, and I found that the main character was more likeable than what he was in the first series.

Hehe...yeh i went and got Torch against the Night...not a bad read. Very easy to read that author. Lent the books to my niece (17 yr old)...she is hooked as well.

I have about 3-4 different "series" all on the go. I usually try to keep to the "don't start till they are finished" rule...but I also have a "only buy it locally when they have at least the first 2 in stock". So I sometimes swing back and forth between series.

I ran out of books (waiting on book 5 of The Wheel of Time Series) so have started reading Christoper Paolini's Inheritance Cycle as I I realised I hadn't finished the final book. Young Adult fiction (teenager) so easy to read, but that is perfect right now...no thinking needed for a few days.

The problem I have is one I find a good author (Robin Hobb, Orson Scott Card, marcus Heitz, Sanderson etc) I don't tend to try any others.

[AndyP]

I've only read short stories by Card and have never heard of Heitz.

I have had some Paolini books on my Kindle for ages, but have never read them. Let me know how you go.

[Slothman]

Card has some epic stories in there. The Ender Wiggin Series is amazing. Enders Game I still reread at least once a year. By the 4th book its getting very philosophical etc. Totally different to the first book.

His pathfinder series is definitely interesting. Not sure I have finished that one yet. Have you read his collection of Short Horror Stories. Amazing Stuff. His version of horror isn't so much blood and guts but more the realisation that you are reading something you could actually do yourself and that scares you more. The way he describes it in the foreward is truly worth a read alone.

Heitz is a German Author who has created a nice little fantasy world. Dwarves was his first one I believe, 4 books I think. Good read, traditional dwarves with a slight twist. You get introduced to the Alfar and they are just getting their own series. They interest me as they are the "evil" side of things.

Paolini is a very easy read. You can plough through them. And its about Dragons...come on..DRAGONS!!!!

Jason M. Hough is another that got me. I read his Darwin Elevator only because it was set it in Darwin....great read, finished the series...worth a look

[Lagerlover]

..... best of razzle!!

[KristianJ]

Over a couple of late night sittings I got around to reading The Four Legendary Kingdoms (Matthew Reilly). Typically fast paced and action packed, with a couple of interesting back stories and plot twists.

Now I have a selection of cricket biographies to choose from (Mitchell Johnson, Michael Clarke, Sachin Tendulkar), or maybe stay in the fiction realm and find something else on my bookshelf that I haven't yet touched...

[AndyP]

Isn't Michael Clarke's book fiction?

[PeteyD]

The 'diary' of Michael Clarke that I think Sportsbet did on facebook was funny though.

[damoocow]

Currently reading David Mitchell's 'Thinking about it only makes it Worse' - if you like his style of dry comedy you'll like this.

Have a pile stacked up ready to go after this [the last two are re-reads that I originally got at the library but bought cheap recently]

Worms to Catch - Guy Martin
Punk Rock Blitzkrieg - Marky Ramone
Down Under - The tune, the times, the tragedy.
Ah Well, Nobody's Perfect - Molly Meldrum
Lolly Scramble - Tony Martin
The Summer of 82 - Dave O'Neil

[Lagerlover]

Big David Mitchell fan.

Colin Hay doco on SBS on Demand at the moment damo

[damoocow]

I think I caught bits of that doco when it was first broadcast [or it may have been that Home Delivery show...] - he is a very interesting guy.

[Lagerlover]

I think I caught bits of that doco when it was first broadcast [or it may have been that Home Delivery show...] - he is a very interesting guy.

Yep, didn't know about the Coln Carpenter relationship..
He played down the coast in a pub at $25 a ticket a few years ago.. still kicking myself I didn't get there

[grandmasterb]

Just started reading The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck.

[Lagerlover]

Just started reading The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck.

I didn't finish it

[grandmasterb]

I didn't finish it

Didn't like it?

[jimandr]

I haven't posted here for a while. Not because I haven't been reading, but because the series I started off turned out to be so enjoyable I had to keep reading the next one, and then the one after that until there were no more.

If I were to direct anyone to science fiction who had never read any of the genre, I would now tell them to start with Leviathan Wakes by James S A Corey. I'd be fairly confident the new reader would be as desperate as I was to keep going with the rest of the series. There are six of them currently released, and apparently another three to go. They (there are actually two authors) release a book per year.

The series is called The Expanse, and has been/is being made into a TV series on the Sci Fi channel in the US. I don't think it is being shown here yet.

The books are everything I want in a Sci-fi series. Good writing, interesting and logical science, and in particular terrific story telling, with lots of little cliffhangers that make you want to read on to find out what happens next. The plot goes into a number of different directions that I couldn't predict, but which made sense by the internal logic of the scenario being presented.

For me, this is better than anything by Reynolds or Peter Hamilton.

[AndyP]

The Expanse is on Netflix, Jim.

The books don't pass the completed series rule that a few of us have.

[Courty]

I've read the first few of The Expanse series and have enjoyed them so far. I'm currently reading Hamilton's Night Without Stars, but will get back to the Expanse next.

[AndyP]

Since my last check-in, I have read Paolini's Eragon, which I found to be pretty ordinary. I guess it helps to get promotion for your books when your parent's are publishers. I won't be rushing back to finish the series.

I also read a collection of short stories by Iain Irvine based in the worlds that he has created for other books. Some were good, some were meh, but they a lot seemed to be promoting an upcoming book series.

Picturing Prince: An Intimate Portrait was a great read for a Prince fan. It is not something that I would have bought for myself, but it was a gift. I expected just a bunch of photos, which is a bit boring, but there were a lot of really interesting recollections from the photographer about his interactions with Prince.

I'm back in Robin Hobb's world now finishing the fourth book in the Rain Wild Chronicles. I'll probably move straight on to her next series, The Fitz and the Fool​, after that, with maybe a one book break in between.

[Courty]

I read a bit of space opera, inter-mingled with cyberpunk. Peter F. Hamilton is my favourite SF author (which I've no doubt said earlier in the thread) whose Night's Dawn trilogy is an excellent space opera series. Others of note are Gary Gibson, Richard K. Morgan & Alistair Reynolds. Check them out if you haven't already.

I recently found out that Netflix is plowing $7 million per episode into an TV series adaptation of Richard K. Morgan's Altered Carbon book(s). I really enjoyed the story so hopefully the TV show does it justice.

[Ferrins]

Stephan King
Bazaar of bad dreams.
Had his collection of novelettes a few years back and I'm enjoying these short stories so far.