Reading

[Estelle]

Like a lot of people, I have a lot more time at home these days, and have been slowly working through my huge pile of books to-be-read.

I read:

• Naomi Novik's "Temeraire", which has an absolutely brilliant dragon in it - I'll definitely look out for the rest of the series
• "Gods of Jade and Shadow", by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, a fantasy set in 1920s Mexico, with Mayan gods and a great heroine
• Two beautiful historical Irish novels by Sebastian Barry, "The Secret Scripture" and "A Long Long Way"

I have just started the latest Pern novel, Dragon's Code! And because one book on the go is not enough, "Confessions of a Bookseller" by Shaun Bythell, which is absolutely hilarious on dealing with annoying customers (and will make you think twice about buying from Amazon again...)

Is anyone else reading anything good? Any recommendations?

[Suzee]

I love your list Estelle,  I've found myself reading as well.

• I've read Naomi Novik's full series and I just love her work. Temeraire is a great (Literally) Dragon
• I've been re-reading the Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold (Anne McCaffery once said of Lois _"That woman can WRITE!" - Start With "Shards of Honor." The first two books are about the Parents, thereafter Miles Vorkosigan becomes the protagonist of the series.
• I'd reccommend the Safehold series by David Weber (Emma turned me on to that one.) It's wonderful! - as is his Honor Harrington Series
• Last one I would reccommend is David Eddings' Belgariad/Malloreon

[Heather]

The Blue Sword by Robin Mckinley ... it's one of the best things you'll ever read.

Description:
Harry Crewe is a Homelander orphan girl, come to live in Damar from over the seas. She is drawn to the bleak landscape, so unlike the green hills of her Homeland. She wishes she might cross the sands and climb the dark mountains where no Homelander has ever set foot, where the last of the old Damarians, the Free Hillfolk, live.

Corlath is the golden-eyed king of the Free Hillfolk, son of the sons of the legendary Lady Aerin. When he arrives in Harry's town to ally with the Homelanders against a common enemy, he never expects to set Harry's destiny in motion: She will ride into battle as a King's Rider, bearing the Blue Sword, the great mythical treasure, which no one has wielded since Lady Aerin herself.

Legends and myths, no matter how epic, no matter how magical, all begin somewhere.

[Yvonne]

I've also been working through my TBR pile, but I've also been enjoying a lot of rereads. My latest:

• Naiome Novak's 'Uprooted' - it's a reread but I love it. I need to check out her "Temeraire" series. I think it's great that we all seem to be reading her work right now!
• Cierce by Madeline Miller - I'm half ways through and I'm enjoying it. I have a soft spot for gutsy nymphs.
• The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix Harrow - a lot of this is about disappearing into books and running through doors, which felt good since I think we're all feeling a little claustrophobic right now.

I also read 'Gods of Jade & Shadow' and I quite enjoyed that. And I have 'The Blue Sword' on my bookshelf, and I think it might need a reread.

[Estelle]

Thanks for all the recommendations - I'll have to check some of those out. I have read Circe! It was a present from my sister last birthday and it's really good. I liked reading about some of the those myths from the female point of view.

I finished Dragon's Code, and enjoyed it, which slightly surprised me! I had kind of low expectations starting it, because it's not Anne, but also because it looked like it was going to be a retelling of one of the plots from the previous books. I would rather she had chosen to write a completely new story, maybe in a different Pass. If you know what happens in the earlier books, there's not a lot of tension about how it's going to turn out, and if you don't, I imagine it would be harder to care about some of the characters who just appear briefly. Also, although I liked Piemur in Dragonsinger, I find him a bit annoying in some of the later ones and would rather read more about Menolly.

However, I did like that the characters are more interesting and complex than in some of the other books - there's quite a lot about the conflicts between the Oldtimers about how to deal with their situation after they go to Southern Weyr, they have different reasons for doing that and they're not all just two-dimensional villains. I always wished there was more about them, because what would it be like to go hundreds of years into the future, start fighting thread all over again and deal with all the cultural changes that happened in the meantime? It's also nice that there's more of a message of redemption and understanding why people do wrong, rather than just writing them off as beyond help.

There is also some good stuff about healing, plants and life in a small hold, which is useful for anyone who wants to write about those things. Although it did confuse me by referring to Sebell as a "journeyman masterharper" all the time. I'm so used to the ranks being apprentice, journeyman, master that I'm not sure what that means.

I also wanted to quote this part about dismounting from a dragon, because it's cool and I want to have a character do it at some point...

From his perch on Lioth's neck, N'ton bent forward from the waist and in one agile, seemingly breakneck action, fell, headfirst toward the ground. At the very last moment, he flick-pivoted his legs together in a snapping movement, using them like a fulcrum to force his body upright, and landed straight and steady at the side of his mount.

I'm now reading The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova, who wrote one of my favourite books about vampires, The Historian. I'm about half way through and I love it!

[Yvonne]

 I will look into Shadow Land - I also loved The Historian. I should reread that one too... I think I have it on my shelf. I tend to lend things out and then forget about them...

If anyone is looking for a super sweet fantasy romance, I just read 'Paladin's Grace' by T Kingfisher and I loved it. It had a lot of my catnip: broken people figuring out what they need & what a good life looks for them, normal people affected by large events, found family, and severed heads. *eg*

I also just finished 'Magic for Liars' and I am such a sucker for noir-esque MCs and unreliable narrators. It was a tough read though-- I kept having to put it down when the MC made a bad decision, and that was often.

Dragon's Code - omg thank you for sharing that quote! I could 100% see Harki doing that! 

[Suzee]

Cool author is Christofer Nuttal.  He's writting some stuff I enjoy.  Best is the Schooled in Magic series.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F7Q8LDF?ref_=dbs_s_ks_series_rwt

This is not Hoggwarts revisited and the magic works differently.

I'm taking some of your advice on other books... all of you should also read some of Devin's stuff if you haven't already.  It's really good.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=devin+harnois&crid=2B603LOW9PCHP&sprefix=devin+har%2Caps%2C209&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_9

[Estelle]

Devin! I read "For the Love of Spooky Things" back in February (which now feels like a distant age) and I loved it! I particularly liked the main character, Zane. It's quite a skill to make a teenager so sweet and likeable and interesting. I hope there will be more. I started on the Jak & Leander series last month, because who can resist reading about romance and magical mechanical animals?

My update for now is that I just finished the first of Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series, which I've never read (I picked up one of the middle books in the series once, years ago, but was completely confused by it). There's still a lot I don't understand about the world even starting from the beginning, but I'm enjoying how it doesn't tell you everything at once and lets you discover what all the mysterious references are bit by bit. And it has a brilliant opening line.

I've started on a re-read of "Dune" today as a sci-fi podcast I enjoy is doing an episode on it and I haven't read it in a very long time, and then might pick something from the recommendations here...

[Devin]

Oh gosh.   Thank you Suzee and thank you Estelle! I'm so glad you liked Zane, and yes I'm working on a sequel for Spooky Things!

[Miriah]

I'm currently reading/listening to "The Last Wish" by  Andrzej Sapkowski. It's really good. :D

[Suzee]

Have just read a very cute series that made me constantly laugh out loud.  If you like Regency Romance that departs from the regular formula, this is a good series. The Girls Who Dare are a group of wallflowers who create a book club and then each select's a DARE from a Tophat. They're all available in Amazon Unlimited for free.

Beyond that, I've heard the news recently that Neflix is filming a new series Bridgerton based on Julia Quinn's novels.  Again Shonda Rhimes is bringing something great to the screen.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/shondalands-first-netflix-series-will-arrive-2020-1223524

Jula Quinn's novels are also available on Amazon and a great read.  She has quite an involved plot and I recommened the series.

[emma]

Ok - I'm just going to say this once - I read Midnight Sun

[Estelle]

Ok - I'm just going to say this once - I read Midnight Sun

How was it?

I'm about half way through "A Memory Called Empire" by Arkady Martine, which is amazing. It's about an ambassador who travels from her home space station to the central planet of a powerful empire and discovers her predecessor died in mysterious circumstances... lots of intrigue, politics, and secrets encrypted in poetry.

[emma]

Better than I thought - it was more a case of wanting to round up the twilight series.  Moved on to some Kim Stanley Robinson now, The Mars trilogy

[Suzee]

I have read the Mars Trilogy.  Also Moving Mars by Greg Bear.  Then there is the Semper Mars (Heritage Trilogy) by Ian Douglas...  guess I went on a Mars kick there for a bit.  Thinking about it, you could probably add Stranger In A Strange Land by Heinlein.