Due to a variety of factors (including reading a dozen or so books that really could have been improved if they were half their length), I finished the month of April with my lowest monthly reading total in over a year and a half at only 25 books. However, I'm still on pace for my goal of reading/re-reading at least 400 books this year. Below are the books I've read. Some will have comments, others references to reviews past and forthcoming:
113 Joel Shepherd, Sasha (fair-to-middling at best. Never really engaged with this story of a spunky princess learning how to be a fighter)
114 Joel Shepherd, Petrodor (the second volume did not improve my opinion of the first)
115 Richard Peabody (ed.), Gravity Dancers (read for BAF; no comments)
116 Samuel Delany, Neveryóna (deep and mostly entertaining. Glad I read it)
117 Salman Rushdie, Shame (I believe this was his second novel. On par with the very good Midnight's Children)
118 Dani Shapiro (ed.), Best New American Voices 2010 (read for BAF; no comment)
119 Brooks Hansen, The Chess Garden (very good story. Will want to re-read this before writing a review, though, now that I've read too many epic fantasies in the interim)
120 Jaime Martínez Tolentino, Cuentos fantásticos (Spanish; re-read; decent)
121 Robert Jordan, From the Two Rivers (re-read; first half of The Eye of the World; already reviewed)
122 Robert Jordan, Into the Blight (re-read; second half of The Eye of the World; already reviewed)
123 Frank Herbert, Dune (re-read; already reviewed)
124 Horacio Quiroga, Cuentos de amor de locura y de muerte (Spanish; re-read; outstanding story collection)
125 Frank Herbert, Dune Messiah (re-read; already reviewed)
126 Alexander Pushkin, Boris Godunov and Other Dramatic Works (play collection; very good)
127 Horacio Quiroga, Cuentos (Spanish; excellent story anthology)
128 Robert Jordan, The Great Hunt (re-read; already reviewed)
129 Frank Herbert, Children of Dune (re-read; already reviewed)
130 Robert Jordan, The Dragon Reborn (re-read; already reviewed)
131 Stanislaw Lem, Solaris (re-read; dull, with only occasional patches of interesting scenes and themes)
132 Frank Herbert, God Emperor of Dune (re-read; already reviewed)
133 Robert Jordan, The Shadow Rising (re-read; already reviewed)
134 Frank Herbert, Heretics of Dune (re-read; already reviewed)
135 Robert Jordan, The Fires of Heaven (re-read; already reviewed)
136 Frank Herbert, Chapterhouse: Dune (re-read; already reviewed)
137 Robert Jordan, Lord of Chaos (re-read; already reviewed)
Won't be listing the magazines and journals read this month, in part because most of them I only read fragments from here and there, skipping over stories not suitable for consideration for BAF 4. Not many partial reads either to share, none really that wouldn't be restarted at the beginning, so those won't be listed here at all.
Future Plans:
Continue the re-reading project of alternating SF/epic fantasy series. Finish the WoT series (currently on The Path of Daggers, with #9-11 and the prequel New Spring to follow), as well as finishing the SOIAF series (currently on A Clash of Kings). After the SOIAF series is complete, start re-reading/reviewing R. Scott Bakker's Prince of Nothing and The Aspect-Emperor books, to be alternated with, after the WoT books are finished, with Steven Erikson's The Malazan Book of the Fallen. The Bakker will be followed by Dan Simmons' Hyperion Cantos and Matthew Stover's The Acts of Caine books. Might also have time for C.S. Friedman's Coldfire trilogy.
And if this starts to drive me mad, I'll mix in books by Gene Wolfe, Manuel Mujica Lainez, Adolfo Bioy Casares, Zoran Živković, and maybe a few others.
Already am on #140 for the year, so who knows? Maybe I'll aim for 50 books read/commented upon this month...or maybe not?
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Interesting, are you not planning to read WoT #12 The Gathering Storm?
Nope. I already reviewed it back in October on this blog, then I turned around and mailed it overseas. Won't bother buying a copy for a while, since I don't have the money to spare.
Neveryona is so good!
Larry, thanks for re-reading and reviewing all these famous huge fantasy series. Very interesting to read what you think of them, especially ASOIAF, which is a favorite of mine.
Mostly though I'm hoping you will review Gene Wolfes Long Sun and Short Sun books, as I loved reading your reviews of the Book of the New Sun.
I absolutely loved The Short Sun books (not so much the Long Sun) but was a bit confused by the end.
Anyway, great blog this!
I might do that later this year, but no guarantees. I don't want to plan out more than a month in advance, in case I burn out on doing this (which I am wont to do). But I'll consider it for the fall, as it would have been about a year since my last re-read of the New Sun series and I could use that to motivate me to go on with the rest of the Solar Cycle.
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