What book are you currently reading?

I haven't quite reached Whedon-level attachment to any ASOIAF characters yet either, but it's getting pretty close, especially with Sansa, Arya, and Tyrion. And of course I know this is just the tip of the iceberg regarding all the bad things that will happen to them throughout the course of the books.

Weekend! And I'm (almost) officially done with high school!

I've decided to give 'The Black Dahlia another shot. It is a book that possesses special powers -- it makes the phone ring, and the door knock and causes people who were otherwise mute to suddenly start a conversation with me everytime I pic the damn thing up. I'm stealing a paragraph here and a chapter there. I began reading it a few years back but couldn't get into it -- now I am still struggling with the terminology and the slang of 1940's American cops. But it is a damn good read -- when I get the chance to read it.

I have finished A Dance With Dragons. While it is still much better than most of the other fantasy out there, I did not feel this is one of Martin's best. It seems to be a "bridge" novel, of sorts, and by that I mean the various characters gathered up their loose ends in lieu of the Big Scenes that will come (I hope) in the next novel. And I hope the next novel is not another six years in coming! I will write a fuller review when I have time.

On a whim I picked up Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith. His writing style is smooth and easy to read, but most of the book is based on Lincoln's "lost journal" entries, an epistolary style to telling rather than showing. Still, I am enjoying it so far.

Tell me how it goes, Paul. I've wanted to read that ever since I read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, by the same author.

I'M NOT PICKING UP A DANCE WITH DRAGONS UNTIL A WINDS OF WINTER COMES OUT. Like, no. Really. Because I want to have something Westeros-esque to be unread, instead of waiting with bated breath like a lot of ASOIAF fans.

The new Carlos Zafon novel came out today. I have a copy of it right in front of me. So, guess what I'll be reading?

Just finished The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafon -- Excellent novel. Couldn't put it down all day.

I recently bought Shadow of the Wind by Zafon. It was the only Zafon novel I could find in the bookstore. I am looking forward to it!

Aw, c'mon Lilli, join us, the ASOIAF suckers...I mean fans...who will bide away the next five years of our lives waiting for the next novel to come out.

Dear Paul:

Paul wrote:

I recently bought Shadow of the Wind by Zafon. It was the only Zafon novel I could find in the bookstore. I am looking forward to it!

Ah, I think you're gonna love it

Lillian wrote:

Dear Paul:

I recently finished A Storm of Swords. Wonderful, wonderful book. Generally, when I say a book made me cry I'm not being literal, but the Red Wedding actually made me cry. From what I've heard, the next couple of books aren't as good, but I'm looking forward to reading them anyway. Just for variety, I got an audiobook of A Feast for Crows at the library. I also found out that it has Cersei and Brienne chapters, which I'm super excited for.

Magda wrote:

I recently finished A Storm of Swords. Wonderful, wonderful book. Generally, when I say a book made me cry I'm not being literal, but the Red Wedding actually made me cry. From what I've heard, the next couple of books aren't as good, but I'm looking forward to reading them anyway. Just for variety, I got an audiobook of A Feast for Crows at the library. I also found out that it has Cersei and Brienne chapters, which I'm super excited for.

Just to let you know, Magda, that George Martin, after A Storm of Swords, splits the POV of his main characters between A Feast for Crows and his newest one, A Dance With Dragons. While AFFC will have plenty of Cersei, Brienne, and Jaime, you will not see Tyrion, Daenarys, and very little of Jon Snow. Those characters return in ADWD which, according to Martin, runs chronologically the same as AFFC. Just wanted to give you the heads-up about that.

It seems that, with the exception of Tyrion, all my favorites are in A Feast for Crows, and all the characters I'm more ambivalent about are in A Dance with Dragons.

Oh, well. I'll see how it goes.

I'm currently trying to work through Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher, but usually the only time I have is when I'm exhausted after Chemistry and can't process what I'm reading, so it's slow going.

I'm currently reading another Zafon novel, The Midnight Palace. It is the only one left that I haven't read. Two more are being translated and will be released next year, so I'm looking forward to that. The Midnight Palace is a YA novel and so far seems similar to his other YA novel, The Prince of Mist, with an orphan being pursued by the devil and all that, great none the less.

I've given up (again) on the Black Dahlia. There is something about that book that seems to make the damn phone ring or the door knock or cause people who were otherwise mute to suddenly start talking the second I start reading.

Speaking of Zafon, I have started The Shadow of the Wind. So far I am liking it.

Paul wrote:

Speaking of Zafon, I have started The Shadow of the Wind. So far I am liking it.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Magda wrote:

I recently finished A Storm of Swords. Wonderful, wonderful book. Generally, when I say a book made me cry I'm not being literal, but the Red Wedding actually made me cry. From what I've heard, the next couple of books aren't as good, but I'm looking forward to reading them anyway. Just for variety, I got an audiobook of A Feast for Crows at the library. I also found out that it has Cersei and Brienne chapters, which I'm super excited for.

Storm of Swords was a real high point for me. The only stories I see improving after this one is Arya's.

Has anyone read The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula Le Guin? It sounds really interesting. It is about a man who can alter reality using his dreams, however a doctor gets a hold of him and manipulates his dreams, thus manipulating reality and making himself a de facto deity.

How is The Shadow of the Wind going, Paul?

Ben wrote:

Has anyone read The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula Le Guin? It sounds really interesting. It is about a man who can alter reality using his dreams, however a doctor gets a hold of him and manipulates his dreams, thus manipulating reality and making himself a de facto deity.

How is The Shadow of the Wind going, Paul?

Good! I am almost finished with it. I love Zafon's prose, though the epistolary/constant change of POV style did irritate me a bit. Still, I am looking forward to reading more of his work.

I have heard of Ursula Le Guin, but have not read any of her work. Let us know how you like The Lathe of Heaven.

Finished Furies of Calderon. Haven't read anything since, though, because of Chemistry. I need to finish before the end of July. FML.

You can do it, Lilli!

I finished Shadow of the Wind. I will be looking for more Zafon books.

Right now I am reading Utopia by Sir Thomas More. After just a few pages it amazes me how similar economic realities are, even with nearly 500 years separating the initial publication of this book and now. It seems commodities, whether it be wool or oil, will always determine wealth.

Paul wrote:

I finished Shadow of the Wind. I will be looking for more Zafon books.

I see you've got the Zafon bug too