I just finished Trading in Danger by Elizabeth Moon, my new favorite author. Sure, her books (I read the Paksenarrion trilogy before this one) aren't Nobel Prize material, but they 1) are very entertaining, 2) have great portrayals of strong (mentally and physically), female protagonists. Perhaps it's because Moon used to be in the Marine Corps or whatever, but she writes some of the best, if not the best action heroines I've encountered and her action scenes are mostly pretty realistic to boot. Trading feels a bit more polished than Paks, her story telling has improved, and she spends less time listing pointless details. We'll see what the sequel to Trading is like (should arrive in the mail in a few days). I'm just starting The Necklace of the Gods by Alison Goodman, the sequel to The Two Pearls of Wisdom which @KaTrian already mentioned. I've yet to read further than the first pages, but if it's anything like the first book, it'll probably be a fun, well written adventure. I'm reading a lot of books with action-y female MCs now 'cause I'm writing one and I want to see how others have done it before, but it's difficult to find good ones (most of which seem to be written by women; Kendra Pacelli, the MC of Freehold by Michael Z. Williamson, reads like a dude wearing a woman's body). Moon's MCs are different from the norm in the sense that it seems they are often quite tall / muscular and physically very capable (and have received combat training), which is a nice change of pace from the usual female action heroes who tend to be of the Buffy type (small, skinny, no muscles, yet somehow still kick everyone's asses). Goodman's character falls into the usual category with the exception that her size actually affects her success in physical fights, i.e. she gets her ass kicked by stronger / bigger / more skilled opponents (which is pretty realistic, something that's also very rare). It's hard to say which author / which MCs I like best because they're pretty different and I've yet to read the second Goodman book, but we'll see, so far so good.
For a twisted action/psychological thriller with a female MC give "Invisible Monsters" by Chuck Palahniuk a try. He's my favorite author.
Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics by JRR Tolkien and The Similarion by JRR Tolkien. Its taking forever.
Starting the Perry Rhodan series again, but this time in English (I readed it first in Portuguese a long time ago).
Right now I'm reading a book by a french author, Retour à la ligne by Julie Jézéquel, I can't seem to find the english title, but I'm reading it in swedish. There's actually a publishing house here that is specialized in novels by french authors, I've been reading a lot of their publication lately and really like them.
I should mention that I didn't actually buy it. Someone was kind enough to let me borrow it for a while. I think it sells for something like $80.
That person sounds like one of the best people on the planet. This is clearly a person for peace; and the saint this cold, cynical, secular age needs.
Right now I'm reading Voice Over, by Céline Curiol. After that I'll read a novel by a writer friend of mine that was released last week.
I just finished V.C. Andrews' "Flowers in the Attic." Horrendous writing at times, but it proved entertaining. A guilty pleasure that I didn't have to think much about especially after reading a slew of classics.
Read it last year on holiday for a wedding in Turkey. I especially liked An Encounter. I've just started Ernest Hemmingway's Fiesta The Sun Also Rises in the last week.
Light in the Ruins by Chris Bohjalian. I went into it expecting a simple romance during WWII but there has been murder, mystery and so much more thrown in.
Just read the wee tome Show Your Work, by Austin Kleon, and I'm bubbling with enthusiasm. It's not a how-to book, rather it's a why-to book—about using online resources to get your work looked at. Such a wee gem! This guy really knows how important the internet is to artists of all kinds these days. In this book he encourages people to start blogs, use social media, forums like this one, etc, to get noticed and get feedback and ultimately generate sales. I love some of the quotes. These two are from his personal 'brainstorming' sessions at the back of the book: "The best thing to do is click 'publish' and walk away. Close the laptop and go back to work. In the morning, you can return, like a hunter checking his traps, to see if anybody has taken the bait." Regarding how to talk about yourself at parties: "Just be yourself is terrific advice, if, unlike me, you happen to be naturally gifted and pleasant to be around." I also liked his chapter entitled: 'Don't Feed The Trolls' He says: "A troll is a person who isn't interested in improving your work, only provoking you with hateful, aggressive, or upsetting talk. You will gain nothing by engaging with these people. Don't feed them, and they'll usually go away." Cool book, and a guy I'm sure I'll read again!
I'm in the middle of "The Lies of Locke Lamora" by Scott Lynch. I've been meaning to read it for a while. I normally read in hard-copy but could only find it as an e-book, so it's been a new experience. Enjoying the story, though!
Finished "The Fall of Hyperion" and tried two more Simmons' books, "Flashback" and "Abominable" neither of which did I get past the first CD. They are so different from Simmons' Hyperion series. But I settled on "Drood" and that's on my car audio now. I'm still reading "Wrapped in the Flag", I was delayed by a huge project for a client but I should be done with it soon. The Nation did a book review on it: http://www.thenation.com/blog/175625/growing-john-birch-society
Velocity by Dean Koontz. It's the third time now, it's one of those books I like to reread on a regular basis, with no particular reason.
