What've You Been Reading?

[sweet_sparrow]

I don't have a whole lot of time right now as it's Crunch Time with the semester's end and several nasty deadlines - for this week! - looming over me (so my apologies if replies are incredibly slow and/or just fall to the wayside altogether in advance). Please can someone have a talk with Time and have it freeze it until I get/feel caught up on stuff? *whinge*

I've managed to get a neat amount of reading done this month - about 15 books in all and a slew of short stories I haven't bothered to keep track of. The most notable reading of the month is no doubt the two thirds of N.K. Jemisin's Inheritance trilogy that are out so far: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms and The Broken Kingdoms, both of which I really enjoyed.

Disappointments of the month were Emma by Jane Austen and Sabriel by Garth Nix, neither of which I finished. I may try them again at a later date.

What about you? What's your reading month been like? What stood out in any way?

Comments

[existence]

Things I can remember reading in the past month-or-so (rereads):
- Pegasus and Chalice by Robin McKinely
MY GOD, IF SHE WASN'T WRITING A SEQUEL TO PEGASUS, I WOULD BE IN REVOLT. REVOLT, I SAY. Still! As a shallow lover of talking horses and sword wielding princesses, I was p. happy with Pegasus until the ending (because I was reading it to read something not horribly bittersweet.)

Chalice reminded me a lot of Firewalk by Anne Logston, except in reverse.

- Curse of Chalion, Bjold
Chalion is kind of a comfort read: I do like the way it unfolds.

- all the Vorkosian things except Falling Free and Ethan of Athos, Bjold
This was just a "oh hey now I have a CD with ALL THE THINGS so I will reread. Still enjoyable. (Also, yes, I cried at the end of Cryoburn because I am a wuss.)

- Boneshaker, Dreadnaught, Cherie Priest
I liked Dreanaught a bitt better then Boneshaker, but I think Boneshaker had more interesting conceptual work. Still, I'm more of a sucker for the "I am a widow and I will shoot and logic my way through this" then the way Boneshaker played out.

- the newest Pratchet which name escapes me right now
Somehow, we ended up with the Corgi ed, not the US ed, and the cover? Is very clever.

- the Broken Kingdoms, NKJemison
I agree with my friends that this is the story I will like the least when the triloigy is done, despite it being done about my favorite god. While I liked the characters allright, I really wanted to see more around the plot then I did.

things I have on my to read pile that I have glanced at but haven't fully read (but will totally take nudges for reading):
- Paprika (the one the Satoishi Kon movie was based on: there's a UK translation!) : so far, I am digin' the prose and am sort of werided out by how visceral the cover is

- The Crow (Alison Groggon): seriously the prose here is what is killing my progress, although conceptually I dig it

- Small Jobs (Jim Butcher) : i've read most of these stories, I just need to stop flipping through and read.

- Empress (Karen Miller): I keep meaning to read this book! And I keep forgetting that!

- Leviathan (Scott Westerfield): picked this up last night, kind of stuck between if this is supposed to be cute or edgy

[feuervogel]

I knew the end of Cryoburn was coming, and it still made me cry.

Aside from that, all I've read recently was that and The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak. It was good, but it reminds me why I prefer sf/f to literary fiction.

[sweet_sparrow]

Is the newest Pratchett I Shall Wear Midnight?

And I'm really, really scared of the last Jemisin book. It'll be either glorious or fall flat on its face for me.

Have you managed to settle on any new books now?