This is Post 5 in the Indie Block Party and today the topic is: What are you currently reading?

So this is my current situation, when I haven’t even updated my Goodreads page to reflect the last five centuries or so of reading.

1.   Anyway I’ve just finished an excellent thriller, ‘Oracle’ by J C Martin, which I recommend to all who enjoy a good crime, mystery or thriller. ‘Oracle’ has a great plot, well-rounded characters with human frailties, and the novel is realistically set in a London that I was familiar with… and in the underbelly that few of us have ever seen. I’m keen to read J C’s next books as soon as they are available.

Further details: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15905037-oracle OR http://jc-martin.com/fighterwriter/ 

BLURB:         

“As the countdown begins, the body count rises.
With London gearing up to host the Olympics, the city doesn’t need a serial killer stalking the streets. They’ve got one anyway.
Leaving a trail of brutal and bizarre murders, the police are no closer to finding their latest murderer than Detective Inspector Kurt Lancer is in finding a solution for his daughter’s disability.
Thrust into the pressure cooker of a high profile case, the struggling single parent is wound tight as he tries to balance care of his own family with the safety of a growing population of potential next victims.
One of whom could be his own daughter.
Fingers point in every direction as the public relations nightmare grows, and Lancer’s only answer comes in the form of a single oak leaf left at each crime scene.”

2.   I’ve been re-reading Roger Zelazny’s “The Chronicles of Amber”, as a chunky paperback. Finished the first book ‘Nine Princes in Amber’ and well into No 2 ‘The Guns of Avalon’. Eight more in the series so lots of reading left. I read the Amber series in my teens and I wanted to revisit the world as the series were among my all-time Fantasy favourites. Zelazny’s masterpieces were published in the early 1970’s but are still available.

Further details: http://www.amazon.com OR http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/316876.The_Chronicles_of_Amber

BLURB:

“Amber is the one real world, casting infinite reflections of itself – shadow worlds, which can be manipulated by those of royal Amberite blood. But the royal family is torn apart by jealousies and suspicion; the disappearance of the patriarch Oberon has intensified the internal conflict by leaving the throne apparently up for grabs; and amnesia has robbed Corwin, Crown Prince of Amber his memory – even the fact that he is the rightful heir to the throne.”

3.   On Kindle, I’m reading Ailsa Abraham’s “Shaman’s Drum”, to which there is a prequel due out in the future. Ailsa comes from a ‘long line of Scottish witches’ and knows first-hand about shamanism, which shows in the novel. I am still learning how to use my Kindle so I am reading this one very slowly, but I keep wanting to know more. It might be a fantasy setting or rather future England, but at its core is a tale of love.

Further details: http://ailsaabraham.com/ AND http://www.crookedcatbooks.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=84

BLURB:

“England in the near future. 
Mainstream religions have been outlawed, and the old gods rule again.
Iamo has been a priest of the Great Mother and is sworn to celibacy, but his love for Riga, a Black Shaman, a magical assassin, caused him to break his vows. After being imprisoned apart from each other for three years, Iamo accepts an offer to earn them both a pardon and the possibility of marriage. If they survive.
Iamo and Riga must discover why demons are breaking through from the other side. Which of the cults are renegades who allow the demons through? Who can they trust? 
Combining their powers, they face the ordeal with the help of a band of eclectic pagans, spirit creatures, Riga’s Black Shaman brothers, an undercover Christian granny, and three unusually energetic Goths. 
It’s a tough assignment, but the hope of a life together keeps them fighting.”

Copyright: J M Clarke

Sadly I have a growing list of books that I want to read in paperback or tree-form as some call it, and also on Kindle, which some claim is more green. Still love the feel of turning pages of a paper book, and seeing them around.

I also need to read more in the way of research – e.g: Don Bamford & Paul Carroll’s ‘Four Years on the Great Lakes, 1813-1816’ , as above under my Kindle, and vital for my proposed ‘Seeking A Knife’ novel, which is merely a vague outline. Plus there are dozens I want to buy and those are on my growing Wish List. But I just don’t read very fast, especially on the Kindle.

What should I do? Paper or Kindle? Read more and write less? Abandon sleep?

More on my Reading habits here on Writing Wings tomorrow.

but until then

Please visit the Blogs of other Indie Block Party participants via: http://felwetzig.com/indie-block-party/

Related articles

• Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny (meangoblin.com)
• Roger Zelazny’s The Chronicles of Amber (tor.com)
• The Chronicles of Amber Reread: The Guns of Avalon (tor.com)
• NPR’s top 100 Sci-fi and Fantasy Books (nicolepoweleit.wordpress.com)