Saturday 26 September 2009

‘Almost The End Of The Year’ Reading Resolutions…

It’s getting to that time of the year when I look at the reading pile and think thoughts like, ‘How long has Book X been sat there?’ and ‘Book Y? I’d completely forgotten that was even in the pile at all!’ A healthily sized reading pile is pretty much essential, if you enjoy reading, but it can also be a thorn that pricks your conscience…

I never really made any New Years Resolutions (apart from the one about cake… yeah, that really worked out…) and the sight of the reading pile made me decide to make my resolutions now instead. I’m going to see what I can do to work my way through certain longstanding residents, of the pile, before the end of the year. And here they are…

‘Dust of Dreams’ and ‘Return of the Crimson Guard’



I’ve only had ‘Dust of Dreams’ a little while but do not want to fall into the same trap that I did with ‘Toll the Hounds’; I’m going to read it before the end of the year dammit! ‘Return of the Crimson Guard’ has been around a little while longer, much to my shame (call myself a Malazan fan…?) The excuse has always been that they’re a little too bulky for the tube but that’s not going to put me off any longer!

‘The Grave Thief’ – Tom Lloyd



Do you find yourself really enjoying a series and then, for no reason whatsoever, end up ignoring the latest instalment? That’s what has happened here and I couldn’t tell you why; like I said, I really enjoyed the first two books. What I am going to tell you though is that this book will be well and truly read by the end of the year (I hope…)

‘Viriconium’ – M. John Harrison



I know exactly why I put this book to one side (I ended up getting really depressed at its bleak vision of the end of the world. Having said that though, can the end of the world be anything other than bleak…?) The plan was to go for the re-read though and that’s still the aim. Look for more mini-reviews in the near future!

‘The Horror Stories of Robert E. Howard’



And here’s the book that has been on the pile such a long time that I’ve forgotten how long it’s been there. I took a break from it, to read something else, and the next thing I know it’s buried under… well, pretty much everything else! I’m going to finish it though. I am…

More books may be added to the list depending on how I go with these ones…

How about you though? Are there any books on your pile that you want to finish by the end of the year? Could this post be the start of an on line support group where we help each other get through our reading piles? Comments please! :o)

7 comments:

Jacob @ Drying Ink said...

I've got exactly the same situation with Tom Lloyd - I read the first book, liked the first book... Then forgot all about the rest - still on my TBR pile. This was a year ago. :) I've just read Dust of Dreams as well... I'm still to get on to Dark Heart of the Nightside, the bane of my TBR pile!

Droidprogrammer said...

I found myself doing the exact same thing with the Tom Lloyd book. Bought it, sat on my self forever, read part of, put it down. He should have kept what I thought was the original intent of the series. Which in my mind was lowly caravan boy becomes the superstar. I find myself missing the "Old School" fantasy formula sometimes. And Tom Lloyd was doing so well..

I also have the Sunrise Lands from Sm Stirling, Lamentation by Ken Scholes, and now that I think about it, I haven't finished Best served Cold by Joe Abercrombie..

And I am looking at my pre-order list for the fall, and I want to cry...

Mardel said...

The loving a series, then for some reason ignoring the latest installment thing has been happening lately to me. I have Carrie Vaughn's lates werewolf book in my TBR pile-had since four days BEFORE the release date, but haven't read it yet. She's one of my favorite writers. Same thing with Jeaniene Frost. Love her books, but haven't read the third book yet. and Marjorie Liu's Darkness Calls.

But when a Devon Monk book comes, or Suzanned McLeod - I stop reading everything until I've read theirs.

Anonymous said...

Replying a bit late here, but I have a few books that I really wanted to read this year and haven't yet. One is Robin Hobb's the Soldier Son series. Her Liveship trilogy is my favorite of all time, and yet I just seem reluctant to read the Soldier Son. It is my next fantasy series to read, hopefully I'll have it read shortly. Another is The Shadow of the Wind and Empire in Black and Gold.

Guinevere Seaworth

Jim Haley said...

Easily the one that's been on my TBR pile the longest is Orcs by Stan Nicholls. Most others are only a few months old, but that one has been sitting for at least a year now.

ediFanoB said...

There are some books which I will definitely read until the end of the year:
BURN ME DEADLY by Alex Bledsoe
BONESHAKER by Cherie Priest
THE MAGICIANS by Lev Grossman
THE STORMCALLER by TOM Lloyd

Dave said...

The main thing that I want to read this year (which has been on my shelf for a month already) is Best Served Cold. I need a trip to force me to read it instead of working on my own book + publicity :)