Kevin's Watch

[Syl] wrote:Well, Av, I'm an English major now, and if I don't have to reread it three times to make sense of it, it's not any good.

I'm re-reading AATE by some guy...enjoying it again...think he finally hit his stride in this one.

--A

Finished LFB a bit ago and started TIW... I'm sure I'll survive this one somehow.

Just saw my hubby brought home a book from the "Jim Butcher" series - The Dresden Files is more or less based off of it, and I've seen a few of those.
I somewhat-inevitably end up reading lots of stuff he leaves lying around... so I think I know what book will be coming up for me.

AATE is so far ahead of me... need to re-read the First and Second Chrons first.

I've heard that the Jim Butcher books are pretty good. I have the first one, but I probably won't get to it for a while.

I'll be finished with The Gap this week, and ordered the 4th and final Audio book in Gregory McGuire's Wicked Series (Out of Oz), so, either that will be up next, or The Chronicles of Amber (I've listened to The Corwyn Cycle once before, but, may start there for a re-listen, and then the Merlin Cycle will be all new to me, since I got it after having listened to the Corwyn Cycle)

The First Collected Tales Of Bauchelain and Korbal Broach. Again.

--A

Rereading The Amtrak Wars by Patrick Tilley. On book 2 ATM.

Great books for them as doesn't know them.

--A

Book 3.

--A

Five hours left of WOT: Towers of Midnight. Never thought I'd actually get through Wheel of Time, but here I am, after about 375 hours of listening to Michael Kramer and Kate Reading (going to have withdrawal symptoms, for sure). And people complain AATE is long!

Re-re-re-re-re-re-re-reading The Illearth War.

Zorm wrote:Five hours left of WOT: Towers of Midnight. Never thought I'd actually get through Wheel of Time, but here I am, after about 375 hours of listening to Michael Kramer and Kate Reading (going to have withdrawal symptoms, for sure). And people complain AATE is long!

Goodness, and I thought listening to First, Second, and Last Covenant Chronicles and The Gap straight through was a bit of a marathon (Not straight through in one sitting, mind you, but, one book after another on my commute). Got another couple minutes left of the last chapter of the Gap, and Wicked Bk 4 Out of Oz showed up last night, so, I'll listen to that, before moving onto Chronicles of Amber, all 10 Books of The Corwin and Merlin Cycles.

E-reading Kraken by Miéville.

I also started listening to The Mote in God's Eye last week, but I've put it away again. I found the narrators voice rather annoying. Maybe I should give it another chance.

I'm currently reading the short story collection Black Juice by Margo Lanagan.

Reading Dragon Haven by Robin Hobb, and loving it.

Reading The Gone Away World by Nick Harkaway and thoroughly enjoying it. It's kind of like Catch 22 meets The Black Company, with a little bit of Disc World sprinkled in.

Amtrak Wars Book 4 Blood River.

--A

sindatur wrote:

Zorm wrote:Five hours left of WOT: Towers of Midnight. Never thought I'd actually get through Wheel of Time, but here I am, after about 375 hours of listening to Michael Kramer and Kate Reading (going to have withdrawal symptoms, for sure). And people complain AATE is long!

Goodness, and I thought listening to First, Second, and Last Covenant Chronicles and The Gap straight through was a bit of a marathon (Not straight through in one sitting, mind you, but, one book after another on my commute). Got another couple minutes left of the last chapter of the Gap, and Wicked Bk 4 Out of Oz showed up last night, so, I'll listen to that, before moving onto Chronicles of Amber, all 10 Books of The Corwin and Merlin Cycles.

I'd say almost-marathoning through the Chrons and Gap is an achievement. What I recall from last year, the Gap volumes reached 30-40h on audio, omitting the first, and so did the 3rd chrons. I didn't rush through WOT on one sitting either; have been following it since February.

Just started on the new audio recording of Mordant's Need. Has a promising start, though it's to hope Brick's reading won't grow as histrionic as in ROTE. The pomp started gradually getting wearisome.

Also, I have an Icelandic children's book containing a retelling or two about some local trollish folktales in my to-read pile. Should try to decode the bugger with the help of a dictionary at some point. I kinda fell in love with that language.

Book 5, Death Bringer.

--A

Zorm wrote:Just started on the new audio recording of Mordant's Need. Has a promising start, though it's to hope Brick's reading won't grow as histrionic as in ROTE. The pomp started gradually getting wearisome.

Circa 8 hours in, and I must say that Brick has improved his reading a LOT compared to ROTE. More in common now with Kramer's calm, slow-paced manner than a hockey match referee.

Zorm wrote:

Zorm wrote:Just started on the new audio recording of Mordant's Need. Has a promising start, though it's to hope Brick's reading won't grow as histrionic as in ROTE. The pomp started gradually getting wearisome.

Circa 8 hours in, and I must say that Brick has improved his reading a LOT compared to ROTE. More in common now with Kramer's calm, slow-paced manner than a hockey match referee.

Wow, I love Scott Brick's Reading of all 5 Chronicles Books, and was bummed he didn't get to do AATE, and I am greatly looking forward to replacing my Second Chronicles when he wins and records them. I think you're only the second person I've heard (well...read) say anything negative about his readings, and many folks here have praised him.

I didn't realize he did Mordant's Need, too. I need to look into them, as I was only able to get about 120 pages into the first book, before my reading time/ability dried up.

sindatur wrote:Wow, I love Scott Brick's Reading of all 5 Chronicles Books, and was bummed he didn't get to do AATE, and I am greatly looking forward to replacing my Second Chronicles when he wins and records them. I think you're only the second person I've heard (well...read) say anything negative about his readings, and many folks here have praised him.

I didn't realize he did Mordant's Need, too. I need to look into them, as I was only able to get about 120 pages into the first book, before my reading time/ability dried up.

He's not bad, but at least in ROTE (I remember FR being a bit better, but it did suffer from the same problem) tends to overdramatize such sections to where eclat really doesn't belong, and it gets distracting. Some may like that kind of "perching at the edge of your seat all the time" narration, and they're perfectly entitled to do so. I haven't listened to his reading of the 1st chrons, so I cannot say whether the general tone's different. I've only heard some of the old recordings from a woman whose name I don't know, but I like her voice and pacing.

He's however doing a great job at Mordant's Need so far. If he, in the future, reads the 2nd chrons in a similar, calmer fashion, I'll be happy to listen to them.

I may be getting "voice-snobbish", but I've listened to audio books regularly ever since I was 14, and in that time you'll grow to prefer certain styles over others. =) Also, when you're listening to foreign-language material, pacing becomes one of the most important factors.