Finished:

Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb I liked this book a lot! Good political intrigue, especially towards the end. I really need the rest of the series now.

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie Wow, what a fun book! I definitely did not see the ending coming, which in a mystery I'd say is a good thing. I was also surprised at how often she used French in the dialogue. The main character is Belgian and his French-speaking friend usually drop a few French phrases per chapter. I speak French so it wasn't an issue for me. However, it makes me wonder how much French your average 1930's reader knew. Was it just common for people to know basic French? Maybe her being English had something to do with it? I wouldn't expect the people I know now (in America) to understand most of the French that she used.

Currently Reading:

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte After seeing multiple people mention this book on the "what book do you regret not reading sooner" thread I decided to pick it up. It's been sitting on my shelf since Christmas. I'm only about 20 pages in, but so far so good.

I finished Without Remorse by Tom Clancy. I haven't read a Clancy book since high school but my last few books were heavy, complex reads and I needed a palate cleanser. WR was a pretty solid thriller, but I had kind of forgotten that Clancy has a really conservative, traditionalist mindset and the dude is just in love with the American military. Any scene with Marines made them seem like some kind of demi-gods. I did like the fact that John Kelly/Clark is actually kind of a psychopath and Clancy never really tries to make him seem too much of a good guy. He's still nominally the "hero" but it's acknowledged just how fucked up some of his actions are.

I'm going to be starting Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb. I plan to eventually read the entire Realm of the Elderlings novels (Farseer trilogy, Mad Ship trilogy, Fool trilogy etc.) Have heard really good things about them so I'm excited.

Just finished Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb. Loved it a lot, it was a somber, character-driven story with a lot of melancholy. Hobb has some occasionally gorgeous prose. I'm planning on reading the entire Realm of the Elderlings series sometime down the line.

Started Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian. Came really highly recommended as far as historical fiction goes so I'm looking forward to making my way through it.

I have started The Assasin's Apprentice, by Robin Hobb. When I was a teen, my mom and my brother were crazy about Robin Hobb and they read all of her books (in our native language). For some reason I never got into it, never even tried. When we went to the English bookstore together a while ago, my mom gave me this book as a Christmas present, so I've finally started it and I really like it so far! The writing is so rich and dense that I have to read it slowly and carefully so as not to miss anything. I'm already immersed in that world and I am rooting for Fitz. I kind of regret never having read it when I was a teen, but I'm also glad that I haven't, because reading it in the original language is absolutely worth it, and I couldn't have read it in English when I was a teen.

Assassin's Apprentice, by Robin Hobb

I recently finished The Outsider, by Stephen King and I was not a fan at all. There was nothing gripping, no suspense, nothing to really get me into the story or to want to keep reading. The most interesting parts of the story weren't really part of the main plot and there was only one thing that happened in the story that was unexpected. This felt a bit more like a YA novel than whatever it was supposed to be. If you read it and enjoyed it, I'd love to talk to you about it.

Finished Assassin's Apprentice, by Robin Hobb and I absolutely loved it.

Started Royal Assassin, by Robin Hobb which is also really great so far, even though I haven't gotten far. She's such a good writer, I can't believe I've never read anything by her before. I love her characters and their interactions with each other. Next is Assassin's Quest then probably the Liveship Traders trilogy!

Yesterday I picked back up Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb after a bit of a hiatus/reading slump. I read a good 60 or 70 pages yesterday and I'm getting close to done. I would highly recommend this book! Fantasy with a really cool magic system and good political intrigue. Also, this author is very prolific so I'm excited to read the rest of the series!

Started Oathbringer, by Brandon Sanderson

Finished Assassin's Apprentice, by Robin Hobb This was a good fantasy novel, and I enjoyed it, but for me it was nothing particularly special. I know some people really love this series, and I will certainly finish it, but not anytime soon. I suppose the first book was probably a lot of world and character building and that the next two are going to be a lot more exciting, but I didn't find this one to be particularly riveting.

I finally finished The Water Knife, by Paolo Bacigalupi and I also read Assassin's Apprentice, by Robin Hobb. I'm currently some 60% into Royal Assassin (also by Robin Hobb!) and find it quite enjoyable so far! It's a huge world and while I'm not usually into epic fantasy that much any more (mostly because it all sounds like the same and I can't find something unique), it's a good way to take my mind off things for a bit! :) Hehe

Currently reading Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom, by David W. Blight; I'm only like 60 pages in but I don't think I will finish it. It's just... bland. It reads like a thesis.

Been looking to get back into a fantasy series and don't want to start with an 800+ page book so I am getting Assassin's Apprentice, by Robin Hobb this week.

This week I finished my reread of The Shining, by Stephen King, so I'm ready to move on to Doctor Sleep, by Stephen King today. Also still reading Assassin's Apprentice, by Robin Hobb. Didn't get a lot of reading done last week because of the holiday, so I'm hoping I can get back in the groove this week!

This week I'll be reading Assassin's Apprentice, by Robin Hobb. From what I've read so far, it's a bit slow-paced so I'm hoping that the story will pick up the pace a bit later on. Other than that I'm really enjoying the book so far.

This week I finished reading Assassin's Apprentice, by Robin Hobb. I really liked the book, however some parts I found hard to read because it felt kind of depressing to me. This week I started reading The Bear and the Nightingale, by Katherine Arden. I'm really enjoying the book so far, but I hope that the pacing will pick up a bit.

This week I'm getting started on Doctor Sleep, by Stephen King. There are a lot of interesting elements in the book so far, and some interesting characters, so I'm definitely intrigued to see where things go with this one. It's not set up in the way I thought a sequel to The Shining would start, which I also like. The only thing that's bugging me so far is the collection of nicknames for the members of the True Knot (Crow Daddy, Walnut, Jimmy Numbers, Pea and Pod, etc.) . I'm sure there's some reason for it, but it just comes off as goofy.

Over the weekend I finished Assassin's Apprentice, by Robin Hobb, which I really enjoyed. Hobb handles her characters well and does a great job of writing the twists and turns of political intrigue. But it is definitely a prime example for why I don't read a series until it's complete. The book is fine on its own, but there is a lot of backstory and set up for the rest of the trilogy as well, so I couldn't imagine having to wait a year (or years!) to read the next part. Later today I'll be starting Royal Assassin, by Robin Hobb, and I'm excited to see where the story goes!

Just finished The Assasins Apprentice by Robin Hobb and started Solaris by Lem Stanislaw. I am a great fan of Fantasy and Science Fiction novels. Hobb's book kept me reading all night long and I can't wait to get the next one from the series.

I have finished La Belle Sauvage, by Philip Pullman. I had read His Dark Materials more than 15 years ago, when I was 12, and didn't remember a lot. In the first few pages of la Belle Sauvage I remembered some things like the daemons, which helped me get immersed in that world again. I really liked the first half of the book, but then I thought the flood part was a bit too long and nothing much happened. I didn't get the fairy scene and the weird island where nobody seems to see the main characters. I was a bit disappointed by the ending because I expected some answers to be given, particularly about why Lyra is so important. Overall I liked the book and appreciated Pullman's writing and the main themes of religion against science and education. I guess I will be reading His Dark Materials again in the near future to refresh my memory!

But before that, I'm trying to define what my next reading will be. I have The Assassin's Apprentice, by Robin Hobb, or Walden, by Thoreau, and yesterday I bought Cyrano de Bergerac, by Edmond Rostand (for 2€! In France we have this book collection called Librio Classiques where you can find most classics for 2€) and Journal d'un Vampire en Pyjama, by Mathias Malzieu (he's the singer of a French rock band who got a sudden health scare with a weird sickness, and this is his diary from this time). I don't know what to start with, so I'm going to another bookstore this afternoon to buy more books. Doesn't make any sense, I know!

Still on Assassin's Apprentice, by Robin Hobb. Still enjoying it!

Assassin's Apprentice, by Robin Hobb

This week I reread The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, since the last time I read it was over a decade ago. I know this is one of those "love it or hate it" books, and I still fall into the "love it" camp. Holden is just such a well-written character and his voice feels so real. I definitely noticed the class differences between Holden and other people he interacts with (and even his peers) more this time around, which I know is a big complaint that a lot of people have about the book. But I think it's interesting that Holden has so much going for him in life, but is still dealing with a pretty universal question of figuring out where you fit in the world and trying to move into adulthood.

I am also rereading The Shining, by Stephen King, in preparation for eventually reading Doctor Sleep. I had forgotten a lot about this book, and misremembered a lot as well because of the movie. I also just started Assassin's Apprentice, by Robin Hobb, but I'm not very far into it, so I don't have a lot of thoughts on this one yet!

Finished:

Saga: Volume 3, by Brian K. Vaughan

Saga: Volume 4, by Brian K. Vaughan

As of right now I haven't started but I intend to:

The Woodlanders, by Thomas Hardy

Assassin's Apprentice, by Robin Hobb

Saga: Volume 5, by Brian K. Vaughan

If Golden Son by Pierce Brown arrives before the end of the week, I may pick that up and dive back in. I finished it last week and I cannot wait to dive back into that world.

Started Assassin's Apprentice, by Robin Hobb - I read almost half the book yesterday; I sometimes feel after the first few pages that I won't enjoy a book but I kept reading and once it got going I really started to like it. Thankfully it's a pretty quick and easy read and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

Just about done with The Shining, by Stephen King this week. Also continuing with Assassin's Apprentice, by Robin Hobb. I was starting to get worried that "the Skill" and whatever mind-meld thing Fitz is doing with the animals were just going to be thrown in there at convenient times as plot devices and never really explained, but I think she's finally going to get around to explaining what's going on there in the next chapter or so. And having the royal family named after their personalities (Chivalry, Regal, etc.) is still pretty cheesy, but it's not as annoying as I thought it was going to be going in. Overall I'm really enjoying the book so far- political intrigue and pirates, with some interesting characters!