Tea & Books - What are you reading?

What a great book. I’ve been itching for a re-read but am hoping to find a reasonably priced copy of the Limited Editions Club edition before I do so. Otherwise, I’ll eventually break down and check it out of the library…

That’s my favorite book! February 28, 2016 is the 200th anniversary of the date it starts on. I’m planning to start a reread then.

It was my fav as a kid, haven’t reread it & that sounds like to good time to start :)

My favorite novel as well! That’s a great idea, rosebudmelissa, I think I’ll do that as well.

Hmm. Somewhere my information got confused. The book actually starts on 24th of February, 1815. Edmond is imprisoned on February 28th 1815, escapes on February 28th, 1829. Still, February is an appropriate time for a reread.

I have started re-reading it today. Well not quite, I’m listening to the audiobook version this time. I like to switch between text & audio when revisiting a book…

Amazon might have it in ebook form cheap or even for free. I saw plenty of other classics cheap or for free in ebook form.

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1184

‘the long way…’ is totally fun. loved it. If you like something kooky and endearing like deep space nine, with weird alien characters and just the right amount of charming characterisation you will really like it! Her first book and its a good’un

Dark Orbit is on my list of things to read; many years ago I read Halfway Human which was quite good. I’ll have to look into Becky Chambers, she’s not an author I know.
I’m going to start Jemisin’s The Fifth Season or City of Stairs so I can be ready when City of Blades comes out at the end of January.

I have never heard of Jemisin. I’ll put it on my list after reading binti by Nnedi Okorafor

The Fifth Season is very good. Dark and depressing, but very very good.

I enjoyed The Long Way too. Nice light fun. Looking forward to more books.

I’m currently reading ‘The Mirror Empire’ by Kameron Hurley. I’m not sure yet what I think. I’m having a hard time liking any of the characters, yet I’m still reading it.

any recommendations for anything else fun & scifi?

Binti is sooo good!! Also liked Who Fears Death, but as you might imagine from the title, it is not exactly a light read.
I am a huge fan of Kameron Hurley, and yes, Mirror Empire has fascinating characters that aren’t quite like anything I’ve read before. In Empire Ascendant things start to really happen, and I can see how difficult it would be to keep all the threads straight while you were writing; there’s a lot going on.
Jemisin now has a regular column in the NY Times which I am particularly happy about as their coverage of SF has generally stunk.
If you haven’t read something by John Scalzi, that’s lighter SF (and lighter is relative). I liked Old Man’s War very much & Redshirts is supposed to be very funny.

Redshirts is the only one ive read out of those – I really liked ‘the long way..’ because it was serious but light, if that makes sense. I hope she writes more stories where its less about fighting and more about interesting things

I figured out yesterday that Becky Chambers “The Long Way” isn’t coming out in the US until this summer. Whew! I was wondering why I hadn’t heard more about this book, now I get it. I think I can get an ebook version, you’ve got me very curious.

Isnt that annoying when they do that?! Yeah see if you can get an ebook and circumnavigate the region-lock

I prefer her style to scalzi – scalzi is pure fiction, hers is more believable. The characters arent all badass, I liked them, and felt the tension whoever small it was. Very nicely done imo

Strange – I’m in the US and I got the ebook of ‘Long Way…’ on iTunes some time ago.

Yes, the ebook is around, but the physical book is coming out next July from Harper. I miss things when they get released only in ebook; I need to pay better attention to that.

Lol there are a few hard covers on Amazon, some at £500 used and one new at £2,000.

You could get one of those

Haha, if I had that kind of money I’d be planning an epic trip! Or buying vast amounts of tea and teaware :)

Sorry to respond late to this subthread, but I heartily second the N.K. Jemisin recommendation.

Have you all read “Sorceror of the Wildeeps” by Kai Ashante Wilson? African-themed sword-and-sorcery tale with some Afro-futurism concepts thrown in.

Easier to direct to something well-known than not so well known :-)
http://www.listchallenges.com/reddits-top-105-fantasy-novelsseries-of-all-time
I usually pick up something from some top few list like that to read…

Yeah I do the list thing as well – I’ve got a few selected from the ‘best of’ lists already.

theres a lot on there Ive never heard of which is nice, thanks

There’s so much fantasy and it crosses so many subgenres, it’s hard to recommend. I read all types but my favorites are contemporary fantasies or things that are just plain weird but that take place in a world like our own. For these, I like authors such as Neil Gaiman and Kelly Link (though she doesn’t write novels). In the same vein I enjoyed China Mieville’s The City & the City and Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach (though I have only as yet read the first book). Also mostly contemporary and mostly weird, I really like the work of Karin Tidbeck, Karen Joy Fowler, and Leslie What, though I’ve only read their short stories. I have to mention the work of my teachers, Cat Rambo and Alyx Dellamonica as well. Cat writes across all types of fantasy and published mostly short stories until recently when her Beasts of Tabat came out. It’s a fairly unusual secondary world fantasy. There’s magic and unusual beasts, but it doesn’t bear a lot of resemblance to traditional high fantasy or sword and sorcery in my opinion. Alyx has some contemporary fantasy novels that are also fairly unusual in their magic systems. I’ve read her Indigo Springs and Blue Magic and found them interesting.

I like Martha Wells’ Raksura books, beginning with The Cloud Roads. The books are set in a world with hundreds (thousands?) of sentient species. The main characters are Raksura who are sort of shape shifting humanoid dragons. Sort of.

Love the Martha Wells Raksura books!

ive read china mieville – kraken, didnt really connect with me, read the southern reach & lots of gaiman.

Im sorta after more traditional fantasy setting but interesting, not just a conan or LotR re-hash.. If that makes sense. Something not in a ‘modern’ setting

Enjoying The Name of the Wind so far :) i’ll look into those others

I’d like to suggest “The Chronicles of Amber” by Roger Zelazny. It’s a pure fantasy series that I read and loved in High School, and have re-read a few times over the decades (most recently last year). The story line has held up quite well for me and I enjoyed it just as much on my most recent re-read.

I started to write a synopsis here but can’t really give an adequate picture without spoilers, so I’ll refrain. The book starts off with very little information, and the revelation of the layers added greatly to the enjoyment of my first reading so I don’t want to take that away from you.

There were five books in the original series, later expanded to ten. I’ve only read the original five and cannot yet comment on the later books, although they are in my reading queue. You can find all 10 books in a compendium volume.

I almost recommended Zelazny, though I’ve as yet only read the first Amber book. Liked it, though. Amber started in an “our world” setting but moved to a secondary world, as I recall.

I’ve read the 10 Amber books, very enjoyable.

If you like a comic twist to your fantasy, I recommend Terry Pratchett – he ranks among the top of my favorite authors. I’ve read 40 of his 41 Discworld novels and have begun the 41st.

Ive read loads of Pratchett! I might try some of the later ones I havent read if I want a giggle. Mort was my favourite :)

I’ll put ‘amber..’ on my list of things to read, and the others mentioned. I like recommendations by people

If you like humorous fantasy, definitely check out “Year of the Griffin” by Diana Wynne Jones. It cracks me up every time.

The Traitor Baru Cormorant, Seth Dickinson. It’s the story of a woman who seeks revenge against the Empire that colonized her people. Reminiscent of early LeGuin, but oh man it is so well-written and one of my favorite books of 2015. Traditional setting, but oh so definitely not traditional in many other ways.
I don’t know if you read YA or not but Diana Wynne Jones is amazing, especially Howl’s Moving Castle. The book is hilarious and really different from the movie (which was good but in another way).

Im wanting more serious things atm really, howls is on the list, love the movie & glad it’s a bit different. I’ll check her out

Anything by Ursula Le Guin and Charles de Lint. Although Charles de Lint is set in the modern age, his books are more lyrical and less gritty. I’m also a Martha Wells fan! When you’re back in the mood for some funny, check out Kage Baker. Excellent novelist and now that I think of it, her short stories can be more serious.

I didn’t even know Howl was based on a book. The movie was of course great, like most of Miyazaki’ works. I do read YA on occasion & I’ll check out the book sometime.

And ‘Earthsea’ is another Le Guin, I domt know how it compares to the film.

De Lint does have some high fantasy novels…imho they are not quite as good as his urban fantasy, but I still love reading them. Into The Green, The Harp and The Grey Rose (Featuring Cerin Kellady from the Newford novels.)The Little Country (Flits between modern day Cornwall and a secondary world.) The Riddle of The Wren. All of those are pretty good, he has good world building skills.

I loved the martian. Thought it was brilliant and really surprised me

I really enjoyed the Martian as well. I would like to read more good science fiction that takes place in our solar system

I don’t recall any other recent books set in the solar system, but there are tons of classics based on our nearby rocks, say by Robert A. Heinlein (The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress), Arthur C. Clarke, etc.

I know there are classics, but I’m less interested in them because we knew so little about the solar system then. We know so much more about our solar system now, and the things we’ve found out in the last fifty years or so are so strange and wonderful. I really want some science fiction that explores the possible ramifications of that.