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What are you reading?

At the moment I'm reading Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (which ought to see me out) and Sherlock Holmes, as I do when the weather gets cold and I can't garden.
 
Started reading Quiet by Susan Cain: a study on the perception, nature, character and role of introverts in society. Well written.
 
In sync with my attention deficit, I'm concurrently reading:

God is not Great > Christopher Hitchens [ebook]
The Better Angels of our Nature > Steven Pinker [ebook]
Projection, Identification, Projective Identification > Joseph Sandler (editor) [ebook]
Relational Concepts in Psychoanalysis > Stephen Mitchell [hardcover]

... and crossing my fingers nothing else crosses my way before I finish them.
 
Finished Lock In by John Scalzi and it was good, it could have done a bit more with the premise and at times the characters felt a little flat but overall an interesting story with alot of good ideas
Started reading Spellbent by Lucy A. Snyder

Also read some comics
The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men Vol. 1: God Particle and it was just really really boring
I have nothing to say about this comic because honestly the second I put it down I forgot pretty much everything about it

The Fantastic Four: The End was probably not the best place to start looking at the F4
But it was entertaining
A bit confusing with lots of plot and millions of characters crammed into it
But interesting none the less

Batman: The Dark knight Returns
I didn't really like it
I thought the artwork was bland (Yes I get they were going for Dark and Gritty) and the layout of some of the pages just annoyed me
I found the villains to be boring
I found Batman and Gordon to be dull and kinda monotonous
Robin and the new commissioner were underdeveloped
And overall I found reading the thing completely through to be a tough slog

Birds Of Prey: Manhunt which I liked
The story was a little thin but overall it was nice
 
I finished Bed of Roses by Nora Roberts, book II in the Bride Quartet set. I was okay until halfway through the book. And my reaction of :shock: to the scenario is why it is so hard for me to really like regular romance novels:


The couple are lifelong friends that decide to date. Less than two months into this, she decides he is "the one" and wants to spring the "L" word on him. She does this by getting a key to his place from an assistant, putting pots of plants on his property, then going inside to cook him a meal. He comes home after a bad day with architectural clients and thinks someone has broken in. When he sees her and gets irritated, she responds by tossing the dinner in the trash, breaking his dishes in the sink and screaming at him that he is a commitment-phobe. She needs the fairy tale and kids and marriage, but he's too afraid to love her back. Then he spends the last of this book groveling after she storms off in a huff, including having three of her friends treat him like utter crap before allowing him to apologize and propose marriage.

Here's the thing: If I found an SO in my house with a set of keys I did not give them, putting stuff in my home that I did not ask for and screaming at me about marriage after a really shitty day two months into a relationship, my response would be to open the fridge, grab a beer, and say, "This is called trespassing, plus you broke my shit during your tantrum...so see you when I see you." And forget about groveling to anyone in the aftermath. I fight my own battles, so should they.



Having said that, I will brave book 3 soon.

Current reading:
Art is a Way of Knowing by Pat B. Allen
Sophia of the Bible by Aurora Terrenus
 
Zulu Rising by Ian Knight. It's a bit dry and over-detailed in places. But two things stand out: the duplicity of the British in provoking the war, and especially poignant is the way this war foreshadows WWI: waves of brave warriors thrown against heavy gunfire.
 
Tried reading through City of Pearl by Karen Traviss and while it wasn't bad it just never seemed to get more then kinda bland so I gave up on it

Moved on to God Save The Queen by Kate Locke and really enjoyed it. The characters were all interesting and well written and the whole story was quite enjoyable
Hopefully I can find the next book soon

Now am planning on trying Agent To The Stars by John Scalzi and Apocalypse Cow by Michael Logan
 
I finished the entire Bridal Quartet series by Nora Roberts. I think I liked the first one best of all.
The others didn't strike me as much. I suppose because the main character Mac has the same artistic temperament that I do.

Next I finished The Collector, also by Nora Roberts. Started it last year and somehow forgot to finish it, which hardly ever happens. Also liked the main character. She travels often, house sitting for clients around NYC while writing novels. They call her "the Gypsy." - a nickname I have as well. She also has a habit of spying on other high rise buildings with binoculars, which is how she ends up witnessing a double homicide. Interesting book. Not one of my favorites, though.

Now I am reading Prince Lestat by Anne Rice. I am mostly interested in how Lestat will evolve now that Rice has left the Church for the second time.
 
the lady who liked clean restrooms J. P. Donleavy.

Just started this and, while I like it so far, I am put off by some of the grammatical choices which produce sentences that don't make sense. No matter which way you turn the book.

Unable to tell if it is poor editing or deliberate.
 
Ok so I read through The Queen Is Dead by Kate Locke and while it wasn't quite as strong as her first book (it meanders a little in the middle and the main character can get a bit "mopey") it was enjoyable
Apocalypse Cow by Michael Logan which was well written and quite funny. I really would recommend this book
Agent To The Stars by John Scalzi which was a bit slow on the start but once it got going was quite enjoyable

I am currently trying to read Fledgling by Sharon Lee and Steven Miller and honestly it is a bit of a slog at the moment because they are throwing alot of babble right at the start and it's hard to get a feel for it all
Hopefully it begins to improve
 
Killer Instinct - Joseph Finder. 8/10

Good descriptions of clawing up the golden ladder of success in the world of big business.
 
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