What are you reading?

Post by **Crucifer** » Fri Jul 06, 2007 7:39 pm

Crucifer, is that Hyperion by Dan Simmons?

Be ready—it's only half a story. Ends in midair. Many people really liked it and its "sequel," but I was too peeved to bother to buy another book.

Yes, and I'm expecting a sudden stop. I'm on chapter five, the fifth pilgrim, and five sevenths of the way through the book. If it ended after the Consuls story, I'd be very miffed. I'm going to start some book called The Hidden Worlds when I finish Hyperion. It arrived this morning, and I read the first page (exquisite), but I like to focus on one book at a time.

On Sunday week, I'm gonna read HP and the Philosophers Stone. Monday, Chamber of Secrets, and so on.

Post by **Erunáme** » Sat Jul 07, 2007 5:14 am

I read The Tombs of Atuan in one night. That's far too short of a book! I wasn't expecting it to be that quick of a read. It was enjoyable though quite different from A Wizard of Earthsea. On to The Farthest Shore.

Post by **Primula Baggins** » Sat Jul 07, 2007 7:23 am

I like these because the flavor of each is different. Le Guin is obviously not exploiting a formula; she's exploring a world.

I hope you can also get your hands on Tehanu, Eru (the fourth book in the Earthsea series). I love it (I seriously do). It seems an essential part of the story to me.

Post by **Erunáme** » Sat Jul 07, 2007 3:44 pm

I do have it and had thought it was the next book in the series. I looked up the order on Le Guin's website just in case and good thing I did.

I've been surprised at the jump in time from Tombs to The Farthest Shore. I'd like to know what happened in between Ged returning with the Ring and him being named Archmage.

Oh and the blurb on the back of Tombs totally gave most of the book away! It's one of the most spoilery blurbs I've seen.

I remember Iavas did comment that the synopsis on the back of your book gave away a lot of the story, but I assume that has to be done to an extent as you are a new author?

Post by **Primula Baggins** » Sat Jul 07, 2007 5:34 pm

You're probably right, Eru—if I were an established writer, the blurb could be more general ("Another thrilling adventure from the author of Ant Men of Mercury and Star Rangers and the Vortex of Evil!").

I do hate a spoilery blurb, though.

Post by **Crucifer** » Sat Jul 07, 2007 6:07 pm

I must re read the Earthsea quartet. I love it because, as Prim said, LeGuin is exploring her world, not chugging out rubbish that's all the same.

Post by **Primula Baggins** » Sat Jul 07, 2007 6:38 pm

It's a quintet now, Crucifer (The Other Wind), and there's also a collection of Earthsea short fiction (Tales from Earthsea). I don't consider either one essential reading, though; Other Wind was a letdown after the wonderful Tehanu.

Post by **Crucifer** » Sat Jul 07, 2007 7:42 pm

I remember pointing that out elsewhere.

But I can't count The Other Wind as the same series. It is too different. I never finished it, actually.

Post by **Primula Baggins** » Sat Jul 07, 2007 8:16 pm

I stop after Tehanu, too. Actually, it's been too long since I read the first three. . . .

Post by **Teremia** » Sat Jul 07, 2007 8:47 pm

Like some others here, I loved Tehanu, but not The Other Wind, which just doesn't go as deep.

As I recall, The Other Wind also (oddly) shares its image of the Underworld (and its denouement) with Philip Pullman's The Amber Spyglass, and something about that echo took away from my pleasure in both cases.

Putting Tehanu in my "reread soon" pile, thanks to this discussion!

Post by **Frelga** » Sat Jul 07, 2007 11:24 pm

I actually preferred Other Wind to Tehanu. Something about Tehanu didn't quite work for me. But it's definitely worth reading. The Wizard of Earthsea is still my favorite, though, and I thought the ending was brilliant.

Post by **Primula Baggins** » Sun Jul 08, 2007 12:00 am

Tehanu is a harsh book. I like its honesty (and the, well, the thing that happens that I certainly thought was never going to happen).

Post by **Erunáme** » Sun Jul 08, 2007 7:38 pm

Wizard of Earthsea felt quite rushed to me. That kept me from enjoying it more.

Post by **Crucifer** » Sun Jul 08, 2007 9:42 pm

I'm currently reading The Hidden Worlds, by someone called Primula Baggins. Apparently it's her first novel. I can't wait for her second. And third. And so on...

Post by **Frelga** » Sun Jul 08, 2007 10:50 pm

What a coincidence, Crucifer, I'm just beginning it myself.

Post by **Crucifer** » Sun Jul 08, 2007 10:51 pm

Weird...

I guarantee that you will enjoy every letter of it.

Post by **WampusCat** » Thu Jul 12, 2007 3:59 am

I finished "Children of Men," which ruined my sleep for several nights when I kept thinking "just one more chapter...just one more chapter..."

Now I want to rent the movie.

Post by **themary** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 2:43 am

The movie is brilliant Wampus!! Let us know if you watch it I'd like to know what you think

I'm currently reading Laurell K. Hamiltons Blood Bones it's part of the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series.

Prim's book is next

Authors I enjoy are Roald Dahl, Laurell K. Hamilton, Phillipa Gregory, Dickens (thanks Holby), Christopher Moore etc etc.

I need to read Gaiman's Stardust since the movie is coming out too. So many books so little time.

Tue Jul 24, 2007 2:50 am

I'm not reading anything right now.

I'm just posting to say

to themary.

Post by **WampusCat** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 3:45 am

hi, themary!

I'm sorry to say that I didn't care for the movie of "Children of Men" at all. That shocked me because I had heard so many good things about the movie and had enjoyed the book so much.

I suspect I would have liked it much better if I hadn't read the book. My big problem was that they changed so very much. It was as if the screenwriter had read the blurb on the back cover and created his own story based only on that. So the basic situation was the same (no children, society in chaos, humanity's end in sight), but the characters and plot were entirely different. BookJulian, who was the young woman who miraculously became pregnant and was on the run with her husband, a priest, a midwife, and the hero (a historian!), became MovieJulian, who was the hero's ex-wife and underground rebel fighter. A different woman was pregnant. And I can't even begin to describe the differences in the plot. It wasn't a matter of condensing the novel, but of totally re-imagining it, using some of the same names.

That might have been fine except that I really liked the book. There were more elements that made me think, more explorations of the role of religion, more examination of the depression that smothered a society without hope. The characters were more thoughtful. I suppose those are things that are hard to translate to the screen, but I didn't think they'd be thrown out entirely.

Besides, knowing that there was a good movie of the book, I kept seeing its scenes in my mind as I read, translating them to film. I was really looking forward to some of them. All gone.

I'm glad you liked it, though.

I suspect that people who liked the movie and then decided to read the book were as put off as I was. Which is interesting, since the copy I bought had a picture from the movie on the cover.