I also picked up the new Jack Campbell book The Lost Fleet: Valiant. It wasn’t scheduled to be released until June 24, but I’ve noticed that Waldenbooks tends to put things out much much earlier. So I’ll be re-reading the first three before I dive into that one. Eleanor, did you take a look at that series? I like it because it give a good view from an officer’s perspective. Just like the Valor books are all from an enlisted point of view.
I think I read the first two books in the series – I don’t remember the titles, but surely there can’t be more than one series of books featuring siblings named Ward and Paul and one of them is a serial killer, right? They aren’t any better. In fact, I picked up the 2nd book first by mistake (one of those buying a book at an airport things, I was pressed for time). The crazy conspiracy stuff seemed so odd to me that I sought out the first book just to see if things made more sense if you started at the beginning. It turns out the plot is stupid the whole way through.
Finished both of the Shearin books this last week. Pretty good, not great. There were a couple of copy editing problems that were somewhat jarring, and the main character is somewhat off IMO. But I will be reading the third one when it comes out.
The Campbell books are very good. I won’t get to read Valiant for quite a while, but I have read almost everything he has written and he keeps improving.
I agree, they have to be the same series. I don’t recall how I picked this one. I was going into an operation and recovery and bought several books to read during the recovering. I guess I paid the price for believing the reviews.
*Benighted *was odd. One of those books that is almost really good, but has a few elements that throw you off, so when you put it down you aren’t sure if you liked it or not.
I just finished another Honor Harrington book (In Enemy Hands) and it was a little disappointing, my least favorite of the series. Right now I’m reading the next Charlie Huston book, Six Bad Things.
I’ve ordered a copy of Mary Doria Russell’s A Thread of Grace to read with the SDMB goodreads group.
I bought the first one, and I’m planning to read it soon.
Elizabeth Moon’s Vatta Series. I picked up the latest, which is also the final book in the series, and enjoyed it so much more than I had the earlier books that I went back to the library to collect the whole series (5 books) to re-read.
I’m finding that I’m enjoying the series a lot more the second time through. Somehow reading an innocuous name and thinking “Oooh, the bad guy” makes finding out what he’s up to much more interesting than when the guy was just some guy.
I just got back from Europe and while there was reading Tuchman’s Guns of August, so i am wrapping that up.
For what was essentially a history lesson, Guns was very entertaining; it was very interesting getting inside the heads of the people who shaped history at that time.
In the meantime, I have started reading Michael Chabon’s The Yiddish Policemen’s Union. It is a little slow getting started, but things are picking up.
I really like Chabon’s writing style.
Sigh. I’m giving Patricia Cornwell another try; I picked up *Book of the Dead * at the library yesterday. I’m hoping her recent coming out may have given her books a little more coherence. I gave up on her a couple of years ago.
I finished Kobo Abé’s The Woman in the Dunes last night at work. It’s a good mood novel, all about man’s existential loneliness and the futility of modern life and suchlike. I preferred the movie, though. It’s easier to get that kind of thing across visually rather than word-ily.
No idea what’s up next. I’m going to work through more of The Barbed Coil. There’s no reason that book should be taking me over a month to get through. It’s great, but I keep getting distracted.
I’ve been listening to the Dark Tower audiobook series this year and I’m up to Wolves of the Calla, which has now replaced Wizard and Glass as my least favorite. So many things about this book are pissing me off-- the minute by minute detail of boring days, everyone saying things twice for dramatic effect, the attention given to crap which I know doesn’t matter in the long run, the constant adding up of things to equal :eek: 19… I drive along my daily route yelling rude things to the characters and to Stephen King.
I just started Terror by Dan Simmons, it seems like it could be very good. Funny though I noticed inside the book it had a ton of quotes from notable sources (NY Times, Washington Post, etc) and one from “The Onion”!
Btw, I’m thinking of reading War and Peace, specifically the Pervear & Volokhonsky translation which came out last year. That one good enough? Or is there a better version? Help!
Thanks, friend. :dubious:
Now reading Life’s Little Annoyances: True Tales of People Who Just Can’t Take It Anymore by Ian Urbina. Tiny little book; should be done by dinner.
