Book poll

[sholio]

I've been wanting to talk more about the books I'm reading on my journal, but I seem to suck at doing reading roundup posts, and besides, in-depth discussions are more fun anyway. So, which of these books would you like to see me talk about? This poll isn't really binding, but I'm curious how many of these books my f'list has read, since the more of you that have read a book, the more interesting the discussion will be.

[Poll #1347258]

I'll probably think of a half-dozen more books I've read lately that would make interesting discussions after I post the poll...

I also dithered about whether to include the Bear book in the list, but I think it would make a particularly interesting discussion in light of recent Internet happenings, considering that one of the problems I had with the book -- which I nattered about at length to naye back in October or whenever it was that I read it -- was the cultural stuff ...

Comments

[parisindy.livejournal.com]

sadly i've never heard of any of those before

[bratfarrar]

The only title I recognized was the fourth, so I picked that.

[sholio]

ah well!

[sholio]

I actually voted in my own poll, but just so that I could see how the totals were updating without having to click through to another page. I wonder how many people do that ...

[parisindy.livejournal.com]

i've reconize a couple of the writers but not the books at all

i am currently reading odd thomas by dean koontz

and i am waiting anxiously for the new rob thurman and the new jim butcher books in april

[snarkydame.livejournal.com]

I've heard interesting things about Tobias Buckell's books, but I haven't picked them up yet -- it'd be cool to hear more.

[jaekayelle.livejournal.com]

I picked the Lymond books because I've tried and tried to hook other people on them and failed mightily. Could be the first one is off putting somehow and scares them away. But the series is epic and Francis is addictive. And you've read them!

[sgatazmy.livejournal.com]

I haven't ready any of the above, but I vote for NOT Butler. I don't know what it is about her books that really just bothers me.

Any of the above books you recommend reading?

[sholio]

Well, I've read up to book four so far. My biggest problem with the series is that I actually dislike Francis, quite a lot, but the other characters are engaging enough to make up for it. :D

[sholio]

I adore Kindred! The only Butler I had read prior to that one was "Parable of the Sower", and while it was very well-written, it was so goddawful depressing that it took me a long time (much too long!) to try any of her other books.

The thing about Carnival is that it's going to be really, really easy to write up, because I wrote a bunch of emails to naye after finishing it -- I had a lot of things I really liked about the book, and a couple of things I really didn't like (one of which was, yes, that I found the main characters very uninteresting, though the supporting cast was quite awesome), and I've got all those thoughts nicely written out in emails already, so all I have to do is find the emails and work them up into a post.

[sholio]

I'm thoroughly hooked on them right now. The only problem is that he's only written three of them! Woe! This is the problem with getting into relatively new authors...

[sholio]

I recommend the Tobias Buckell books *very* highly. They're kind of like a blend of sci-fi and steampunk, very adventure-y and fast-paced and fun. I find his writing style a bit clunky to my readers' ear, but the books are entertaining enough to make up for it.

I also really love the Noughts & Crosses books, though they're more in the line of social commentary than escapism. And I enjoyed Carnival a lot, even though I had a few problems with it.

[sholio]

I never could get through Rob Thurman's books, but I adore Dresden Files and I'm eagerly awaiting the next one. :D

[jaekayelle.livejournal.com]

He did reach new lows in book four. But stick with the series. Maybe you'll change your mind a little. Maybe. ;-)

[bratfarrar]

I do that every time and always feel vaguely guilty, like I'm screwing with the results somehow.

[sholio]

I know! It feels like cheating or something, which cracks me up, because it really shouldn't.

[sholio]

Yeah, I haven't worked myself up to diving back into the series yet. I think the second half of the first book, and all of book 2, are my favorite parts of the series; it's kinda been downhill over the last two books (though not without its moments) and I've gotten to the point where I don't really want to spend more time in Francis's company. I'll probably get the next two books from the library after I've worked my way through my latest Amazon.com box, though, because it seems like an awful shame to stop this close to the end!

[jaekayelle.livejournal.com]

I think books five and six are the best of the series. However, after reading it for the fifth time (I think) last year I found Dunnett's style somewhat irritating, and I like Francis even less than ever. I'll probably read it again in a couple of years. *grins*

[horridporrid.livejournal.com]

Hilariously, the only books in the list I've read are the Lymond Chronicles (which were awesome), so that's what I voted for. But I'd love to hear your thoughts on the other books, just to see if there was something I'd be interested in. :)

[cathexys.livejournal.com]

I've only read Kindred and it wasn't my favorite Butler...by far!

But I'd love to hear what you have to say about Bear's book :)

[sholio]

I adored Kindred, but the only other book of hers I'd read was "Parable of the Sower" and I didn't like it all that much -- it was well written, but too depressing for my tastes, and the morality felt heavy-handed to me. Kindred has given me the urge to seek out more of her writing, though.

It's starting to look like Carnival's going to be the first book I post on; it seems that there is interest, and I already have a bunch of analytical emails that I sent to a friend when I read the books last year, so I just need to find them and cull from them to make a coherent write-up.

[sholio]

Like I was saying above to jaekayelle, my biggest problem with the Lymond books is that I don't particularly like the main character, which is why I quit reading the series after book four. It sounds like things pick up again, though, so I might get the next two books from the library after I clear off some more of my reading backlog.

[cathexys.livejournal.com]

My first Butler was the Xenogenesis series and for all its problems I really liked it.

It's funny you thought Parable too heavy handed :) That was my main bone of contention with Kindred :D

[sholio]

Ha! And see, I thought that Kindred, especially given its extremely fraught subject, did an excellent job of showing without telling, while Parable made me feel preached at. It's so interesting how different readers react to the same book. And, come to think of it, another thing that might be an influence is that it's been several years since I read Parable, whereas Kindred I read last year, so perhaps it's just that my own tastes and/or level of social education have changed since then.

[naye]

Tip: if you want to see the results without skewing the poll, you can just click "submit" without having filled any of the options! Then LJ will show you the results, even though you haven't added to them. It's really useful!