Finished the WOT.

It's interesting, I initially couldn't tell the writing differences between Sanderson and Jordan.

By the end, it was clear...knowing that Jordan wrote the ending, it was pretty easy to see. Jordan was a good writer, but very wordy. Sanderson is really just a phenomenal writer and he did a great job finishing this series.

Probably going to take a break before jumping into the Way of the Kings and read either the new Dresden book or the Duck Commander book...probably both before WOTK.

Blood Song - Anthony Ryan A+
Mistborn - Brandon Sanderson A
Well of Ascension - Brandon Sanderson A
Hero of Ages - Brandon Sanderson A
Red Seas Under Red Skies - Scott Lynch A
Republic of Thieves - Scott Lynch A
Skin Game - Jim Butcher A

Ready Player One - Ernest Cline A

Really enjoyed ready player one; especially as someone who suffered through a little WoW addiction my first couple of years in college.

Another Roadside Attraction 6/10.

Slow at first but got more interesting towards the end.

I'm currently reading "The Memoirs of Ulysses S Grant". I downloaded all the volumes for a buck to my kindle. It's interesting but can be tedious at times. It also requires a map if you aren't familiar with the areas involved. But I am enjoying reading the perspective of a 19th century war general.

Audiobooks
1) Blade Runner/Do Androids dream of electric sheep: Phillip Dick - B
2) Side Jobs: Jim Butcher- A

Paperbacks
1) The Forever War: Joe Halderman - B
2) Inferno: Dan Brown - D
3) The Eye of the World - Jordan B+
4) The Hiding Place - Corrie Ten Boom - A
5) Chasm City - Reynolds: A-
6) Divergent - Roth: C
7) The Great Hunt - A
8) 20k Leagues Under the Sea: Verne - A
9) The Dragon reborn - Jordan - B+

10) Shadow Rising - Jordan - B+ The main story did not advance as much as I hoped, but the background info and lore were pretty outstanding.

11) Chasm City - Reynolds - A Really enjoyed this one, set in the Revelation Space universe.

Currently reading: The King by Steven James

1-3)Wheel of Time books 12-14
4)The Paris Wife -- it's written from the point of view of Ernest Hemingway's first wife Hadley. Takes place mostly before he became very successful/famous. Pretty interesting reading.
5-7) Divergent series -- First two books were quick but interesting reads. The 3rd book (Allegiant) was a disappointment. Managed to be both convoluted and simplistic with an unsatisfying ending that didn't feel earned.
8-10) Mistborn series -- Read this series because I kept seeing it mentioned here and I had enjoyed the last few books in the WoT series that Sanderson had written. Really liked this one. Did a good job of building a fully realized world without getting bogged down in useless details.
11) The Book Thief -- Very good read. Death as the narrator of a story about WW 2 was really intriguing. Highly recommend it.
12) Gone Girl – Have no clue how I feel about this book.
13) The Queens Fool by Philippa Gregory. I give it a B.
14) Roof Tops of Tehran -- I'd give it a B. Story didn't go where I thought it would and felt a bit unfinished. Interesting perspective of a teenage boy in Iran in the 70's.
15-17) Maze Runner series by Dashner. Give it a B+ Not as good as Hunger Games but maybe on par with Divergent. It was definitely a page turner in that it kept me reading and interested to find out what comes next. And it didn’t shy away from having characters suffer real consequences and including death. It also brought up some interesting moral dilemmas to contemplate. But it felt a little incomplete and not fully formed in a few places. One key story point in particular was never fully fleshed out or explored and it really felt like a big gaping hole in the series. But I would recommend it as the story itself is pretty interesting, particularly if you like post-apocalyptic/zombie type stories. I think it will make a really good movie and do plan to see it (them).


ETA: Currently starting the Hangman's daughter series. About a 1/3 of the way through book one.


[This message has been edited by AgDC (edited 6/20/2014 11:05a).]

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys - (A)

It's about Lithuanians who are kidnapped by the Soviets in 1941 and sent to Siberia.

I'm about 40 pages in to "Into the Wild" and I don't know if I can finish it. So far he just seems like a whiny, spoiled, liberal kid rebelling against his daddy. Does it get better?

If you really, really hate him, then yeah, it does.

I love Krakauer's books though. Haven't read a bad one of his yet.

quote:

---

If you really, really hate him, then yeah, it does.

---

Spoiler alert.

Oh, man!

I'm really sorry.

Lol.

I'm 70 pages in now and it has gotten a lot better. Part of me wishes I could do what he did but for different reasons.

Finished American Gods by Neil Gaiman - A
Really good twist of a fantasy genre. A little weird at times, but good.

Read so far:
The Three Musketeers by Dumas
Ubik by Philip K Dick
Engineers of Victory: The Problem Solvers Who Turned the Tide in the Second World War by Paul M. Kenned
The Thief by Fuminori Nakamura
The three Tales of Dunk and Egg books

I have a feeling I'll take a lot of heat for this, but when does Mistborn become interesting? When do you get the hook? I might be a quarter of the way in, and I have to push myself to keep reading. Usually I can't wait to read more when reading a book.

Just finished Monster Hunters International: Nemesis. (A)

Good cheesy action flick of a book. This series needs to be made into a TV show with good production values.

1-3)Wheel of Time books 12-14
4)The Paris Wife -- it's written from the point of view of Ernest Hemingway's first wife Hadley. Takes place mostly before he became very successful/famous. Pretty interesting reading.
5-7) Divergent series -- First two books were quick but interesting reads. The 3rd book (Allegiant) was a disappointment. Managed to be both convoluted and simplistic with an unsatisfying ending that didn't feel earned.
8-10) Mistborn series -- Read this series because I kept seeing it mentioned here and I had enjoyed the last few books in the WoT series that Sanderson had written. Really liked this one. Did a good job of building a fully realized world without getting bogged down in useless details.
11) The Book Thief -- Very good read. Death as the narrator of a story about WW 2 was really intriguing. Highly recommend it.
12) Gone Girl – Have no clue how I feel about this book.
13) The Queens Fool by Philippa Gregory. I give it a B.
14) Roof Tops of Tehran -- I'd give it a B. Story didn't go where I thought it would and felt a bit unfinished. Interesting perspective of a teenage boy in Iran in the 70's.
15-17) Maze Runner series by Dashner. Give it a B+ Not as good as Hunger Games but maybe on par with Divergent. It was definitely a page turner in that it kept me reading and interested to find out what comes next. And it didn’t shy away from having characters suffer real consequences including death. It also brought up some interesting moral dilemmas to contemplate. But it felt a little incomplete and not fully formed in a few places. One key story point in particular was never fully fleshed out or explored and it really felt like a big gaping hole in the series. But I would recommend it as the story itself is pretty interesting, particularly if you like post-apocalyptic/zombie type stories. I think it will make a really good movie and do plan to see it (them).
18) Hangman's Daughter -- I enjoyed this well enough but don't think I'll continue the series. It didn't grab me enough to make me want to read it more than the other books on my "to read list"

Just started the Codex Alera series. Not too far in but am enjoying it so far. Feels a little bit like Mistborn (in a good way).

[This message has been edited by AgDC (edited 6/27/2014 10:45a).]

After reading the WOT and seeing such high quality writing..I'm struggling to get back into the Dresden book. I enjoy the story, but the writing quality is just not near as good..

Books finished in January:
1) The Great Santini by Pat Conroy A-
2) Living on the Black: Two Pitchers, Two Teams, One Season to Remember by John Feinstein C+

Books finished in February:
3) Lincoln's Dreams by Connie Willis B-
4) Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand A
5) The Master Mind of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs B-

Books finished in March
6) A Fighting Man of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs B
7) Lost in Shangri-La: A True Story of Survival, Adventure, and the Most Incredible Rescue Mission of World War II by Mitchell Zuckoff B

Books finished in April
8) City of Thieves by David Benioff A
9) The Story of a Soul by Thérèse of Lisieux A
10) Spin by Robert Charles Wilson A-

Books finished in May
11) Axis by Robert Charles Wilson C+
12) Vortex by Robert Charles Wilson B-
13) The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt A-

Books finished in June
14) The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbac B
15) Swords of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs C

Just finished Into The Wild -Krakauer

A- excellent book overall

If you liked that, his other books are definitely worth reading too.

I've read and liked:

Where Men Win Glory (Pat Tillman story)
Under the Banner of Heaven (brief history of Mormonism)
Into This Air (Everest disaster)

Into thin air intrigues me. I will probably read it soon but next I'm going to read The Killer Angels.

That's a great choice too.

Still Missing B-
Lone Survivor B+
The Wolf of Wall Street B

[This message has been edited by Stros94 (edited 7/1/2014 12:02a).]

Soldier of the Great War by Mark Halperin- A+

Hands down the best book I've ever read

Just picked up Tower Lord, Anthony Ryan's sequel to Blood Song. Looking forward to getting started on it tonight.

I really liked Mr penumbra's 24 hour book store. It's a similar feel to ready player one. A sort of mystery/adventure.

Catch 22 - Joseph Heller - A+
Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut - A
Ham on Rye - Charles Bukowski - A+ (if you like his style)
Post Office - Charles Bukowski - A
Women - Charles Bukowski - A
Pulp - Charles Bukowski - B
Galveston - Nic Pizzolatto (writer/creator or HBO's True Detective) - B+ (had potential to be much better...though I may have expected too much after watch True Detective)

[This message has been edited by Wolfpac 08 (edited 7/2/2014 4:39p).]

I just finished "The Fionavar Tapestry" trilogy by Guy Gavriel Kay

overall: B

The character development is wonderful, but it stays out of the A-range because the author takes so many narratives almost directly from The Lord of the Rings. He even has a race of beings called the Lios Alfar that have the same relationship with humans as elves in LOTR, and they even sail West over the sea when their time is done in Fionavar! Those parts really frustrated me, but like I said, his characters are really great.

Fault in Our Stars A-

For those who have read "Unbroken" Louis Zamperini died today.

http://forums.texags.com/main/forum.reply.asp?topic_id=2494481&forum_id=13

Just borrowed Unbroken from a friend. Looking forward to reading it.

Feast of Crows...finally!
Books of Timothy
Book of Titus
Where Men Win Glory by Krakauer
Archer's Tale by Bernard Cornwell
Fall of Giants by Follett

Art of Seduction by Robert Greene...middle of it. His books are best read bit by bit.

Big Short by Michael Lewis...need to finish but pisses me off when reading

On deck to read, The Prize by Daniel Yergin, Ephesians, and World Without End by Follett

what did you think of "Where Men Win Glory"