What are you reading?

[Miss Chicken]

Have started listening to ‘Moriarty’ narrated by Julian Rhind-Hutt. I hope to finish it over the weekend.

Have finished ‘The Pharaoh Key’. It was better than Gideon Crew books 1-3, but not as exciting as book 4. Rather typical ‘looking for a lost tomb’ story. 3.5/5
I have started reading ‘Ned Kelly: Under the Microscope’ by Craig Cormick on my Kindle. 21 bodies were recovered following an excavation at Pentridge Prison in 2009. This book is about the attempts made to determine if any of the bodies was Ned Kelly, Australia’s most famous bushranger (outlaw) who had been executed 130 years before. The book also covers the search for Kelly’s skull which was rumoured to have been used as a paperweight for years but ended up being stolen.

 

[USS Firefly]

Star wars Darth Plaqueis by James Luceno

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

The Peloponnesian War by Thucydides. The story of the fate of Athens, the Delian League and Alcibiades seems to mirror aspects of current relationships between the US and NATO and also the rise of Trumpism. Mind you, I don't think we've experienced an equivalent of the Mutilation of the Herms - or have we?

 

[rhubarbodendron]

current read: Doctor Who and the Abominable Snowmen =) Very thrilling so far but I am only at page 45 yet.

 

[Miss Chicken]

Finished Moriarty. That was excellent. Brilliant twist, that was! Moving on to Artemis by Andy Weir.

It certainly was a great twist!!! I thought it was an excellent story, I hope he writes more Sherlock books.

I am now back to listening to ‘Senlin Ascends’.

I finished the Ned Kelly book. It was fascinating and it was nice to read a zkelly book that covered parts of the story that have not been told. I also learned a bit about some of the other people executed in Victoria especially about Frederick Deeming who some have suggested might have been Jack the Ripper.

I will decide tomorrow what mt next Kindle read will be.

 

[Nyotarules]

TNG - Articles of the Federation

 

[Owain Taggart]

I hope he writes more Sherlock books.

Yep, me too. I really want to see what happens next. He's got a great setup.

 

[Owain Taggart]

And finished Artemis by Andy Weir. Not nearly as good as The Martian. In fact, it felt more like an average sci-fi story. He really hit a high-bar with The Martian though, which is more of a statement to the quality and originality of that story though, and it's something that will always be hard to top.

And then I went on to read How to Stop Time by Matt Haig. I've already read about half of it and it's a sweet story. Enjoying it quite a bit.

 

[Miss Chicken]

As far as Artemis goes I dislike the character of Jazz and have not finished the book.

If you like ‘The Martian’ you would probably like the Bobiverse books (if you haven’t already read them)

I am listening to ‘Expeditionary Force: Columbus Day’ by Craig Alanson. Only a couple of chapters in but good so far.

I have finished ‘Senlin Ascends’. The world he creates is fantastic, it’s steampunky. Thought the main character was boring to start with but he improved I might read the second book in the trilogy in August. The third isn’t being released until December.

My Kindle read is ‘Lily of Peru’ by David C Edmonds.

 

[Owain Taggart]

As far as Artemis goes I dislike the character of Jazz and have not finished the book.

Yeah, for me it was a combination of the character and the situation she was in. The caper wasn't nearly as fun as Mark Watney trying to puzzle his way off Mars. Thanks for the recommendation. I'll definitely have a look at them. I've heard a lot about them, but didn't realize they were that kind of thing.

 

[Australis]

Moonglow by Michael Chabon.

A couple of years ago (well, probably more), I borrowed The Adv entures of Kavalier and Clay, and my shelves are graced with Manhood for Amateurs and Gentlemen of the Road.

Moongl;ow is... hard to describe, as I haven't finished it. So here's the blurb:

"Fresh from the publication of his first novel The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, Michael Chabon travelled to his mother's home in California to visit his terminally ill grandfather. His memory stirred by the imminence of death, Chabon's grandfather shared stories and reminiscences the younger man had never heard. That dreamlike week of revelation forms Moonglow.

It unfolds as the deathbed confession of a man the narrator refers to only as 'my grandfather'. It is a tale of madness, of war and adventure, of sex and marriage and desire, of existential doubt and model rocketry, of the shining accomplishments and demonic underpinnings of American technological accomplishment at midcentury, and above all the destructive impact - and creative power - of keeping secrets and telling lies."

It's really quite good and his use of language is fantastic.

 

[TrickyDickie]

The Shelters of Stone, by Jean Auel. Fifth book in the Earth's Children series. Back when it first came out, I read about 125 pages and put it down. This time I am a bit over halfway through so far. Boy, do I need some barma and bouza and Jim Kirk bourbon and anything else I can get my hands on right about now. Compared to The Valley of Horses, this is incredibly boring and repetitious. And Ayla is constantly encountering assholes who are envious and jealous of her and who start causing trouble of some kind.

Come on, Jean. No more blah-blah-blah!

 

[Owain Taggart]

So, finished How to Stop Time by Matt Haig. Such an incredibly sweet story. I've read his previous novel, The Humans, but found this story to be far and away the best one. Really resonated with me.

 

[Nyotarules]

TNG - Articles of the Federation

Finished AOF (great read) then read
TNG Resistance (prelude to Destiny series)
TNG Q&A (mmmm, went right over my head)
TNG Before dishonor (prelude to Destiny, there are no words)
Started TITAN Sword of Damocles

 

[Miss Chicken]

I finished reading ‘Columbus Day’. I quite enjoyed it especially once the AI came into it the blurb from Amazon says

We were fighting on the wrong side of a war we couldn't win. And that was the good news.

The Ruhar hit us on Columbus Day. There we were, innocently drifting along the cosmos on our little blue marble, like the Native Americans in 1492. Over the horizon came ships of a technologically advanced, aggressive culture, and BAM! There went the good old days, when humans got killed only by each other. So, Columbus Day. It fits.

When the morning sky twinkled again, this time with Kristang starships jumping in to hammer the Ruhar, we thought we were saved. The UN Expeditionary Force hitched a ride on Kristang ships to fight the Ruhar wherever our new allies thought we could be useful. So, I went from fighting with the US Army in Nigeria to fighting in space. It was lies, all of it. We shouldn't even be fighting the Ruhar; they aren't our enemy. Our allies are.

I will probably listen to the second book in a couple of weeks time

It was very well narrated by R.C. Bray who also narrated ‘The Martian’.

I have started two new audiobooks.

My day read is ‘Squid Empire: the Rise and Fall of the Cephalopods’ by Danna Staaf, narrated by Emily Durante.

My evening read will be ‘Lonely Graves: Pieter Posthumis Mystery, Book 1’ by Britta Bolt, narrated by Andrew Callum. It is a mystery set in Amsterdam.

 

[Velocity]

Brief Cases by Jim Butcher

 

[USS Firefly]

Finished AOF (great read) then read
TNG Resistance (prelude to Destiny series)
TNG Q&A (mmmm, went right over my head)
TNG Before dishonor (prelude to Destiny, there are no words)
Started TITAN Sword of Damocles

And don't forget TNG: greater than the sum, a great novel and also a prelude to Destiny

 

[Owain Taggart]

Reading the Book of M by Peng Shepherd. Really no idea what's about so far, but I think I heard it described as post-apocalyptic with magic. Still early, but quite interesting.

 

[Miss Chicken]

^^^ That is on my Wishlist. I believe it is about people’s shadows going missing followed by memory loss. At least that is what the blurb says. Sounds a bit different than most other post apocalyptic stories especially as it is set in India.

 

[Steven P Bastien]

Been wanting to read "Odd John" for a while and finally started it last night. Only about 20 percent of the way into it, but I am seriously loving it so far.