"Everyone’s got one.
That secret pile of novels, so very well regarded by the literary world, sitting in a dark corner of their house, sadly neglected despite assurances by so many others that “you’ve got to read them!” It’s a secret Pile ‘o Shame that haunts readers, always calling out longingly to be conquered but always growing bigger."
So says Aidan at A Dribble of Ink, with his great article, so I thought if might be fun if I had a go at my own Pile o' Shame. Meme time!Gene Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun
I like his short stories. I like his essays. Hey, from what I've heard, I like him. But no matter how many times I start The Book of the New Sun, it always slips of my radar; improbable things start happening once I begin reading, that I never get very far in. My first, and only, lava lamp exploded last time I reached page 43. The time before that this weird thing happened to February where it ended up with 29 days. Needless to say, I went straight to the nuclear bunker. No room for dense fantasy novels in there.
In all seriousness, I don't think I'll ever read this one. I have just the right amount of Fate against me, and just not the right amount of determination...
Joe Abercrombie's The First Law trilogy
Maybe this one doesn't count, since I have read the first one, and the third one isn't out yet. But, by now, with all the great reviews, and enough gifted book tokens, I should have purchased the second volume of this (Hugo nominated) series.
I can see nothing to stop me. I would order it now, but ... well, I'm typing this. I'll do it tomorrow. A bit like that passport renewal I was meant to ... damn! Oops...
Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen series
I realise now, that, for a lot of the hard-core militant fantasy fans that read this blog, with a book in one hand, and a Kalashnikov in the other, I'm straying from "...oh, silly person, he hasn't read so and so..." to "call yourself a book reviewer, boy?!". [Enter gunshots here].
The annoying thing is that I have most of the books in this series! I've read the first two books enough that I knew I really liked the magic system Erikson used. I'm just lazy that way...
Greg Keyes' The Kingdom of Thorn and Bone
The "pile" part of this meme goes a bit metaphorical here.
I've been hearing great things about this series from a number of my favourite bloggers, and I really should get around to reading them, particularly as the last book is due out so soon.
Aidan: "In my opinion, Keyes is the most criminally under-read writer of Epic Fantasy. It baffles me that the guy doesn’t sell numbers of novels similar to Tad Williams and Robin Hobb. Get on it!"
I suspect, and this is really bad of me, that the main reason I haven't gotten hold of it, is because I'm not too sure which publisher published this in the UK. Not (just) for the free-ness of it, but it's a book I'd like to review. Tor UK -- what does that mean?! ;) I'll get a copy soon.
Everything by Guy Gavriel Kay
A lot of people describe Kay as "fantasy's best kept secret". Entranced by the word secret, I bought a few of his books straight away ... and then ignored them forever, occasionally looking at the cover art, going, "hmm", and putting them back on the shelf again.
One day I'll get to them. One day.
That's it from me. What does your Pile o' Shame (think of Irish, book-loving, leprechauns here) look like?
9 comments:
Oh dear. My Pile o' Shame includes everyone on that list. That's not good but does it count that I mean to read them all?
Worst confession coming up though... Last year I won a copy of Peadar Ó Guilín's The Inferior from this very site - and was really pleased. But for some reason it's been sitting on my shelf ever since. In a fit of guilt I took it down last night and am now racing through it so I feel a bit better about not having read all the rest yet!
Most of those haven't even hit my pile, other than Greg Keyes! Though Guy Gavriel Kay is a wonderful writer and very worthwhile reading, especially if you like interwoven myths, and in some of his books, more historical fare.
Hello! Found you via your guest post on WISB.
I read Gene Wolfe once and vowed never to again after plowing my way through The Wizard (or The Knight, whichever came first ...) and understanding about 10% of it.
Guy Gavriel Kay is a different matter--the guy is amazing, but he is very hard to get into. I've read A Song For Arbonne, which was beautiful, most of Tigana, and barely started The Last Light Of The Sun. I'm determined to read everything of his though--I think it's a case of being 'in the mood'.
Susanna Clarke is my Pile O' Shame. And George R.R. Martin, although I've been forced to read that by a friend so he's slowly moving off the pile.
Greg Keyes is on my list for that very same reason - blogs. Luckily I have read and adore Erikson and Abercrombie. Gene Wolfe has always been a "must read one day" but whenever I go to buy his book there is always something juicier sitting on the shelf that I just _have_ to read.
Guy Gavriel Kay? Hmmm, people have been raving to me for years and years about his stuff - I finally read The Fionavar Tapestry last year and really didn't like it at all. I have Tigana on a shelf somewhere but will wait until I feel up to it before tackling him again.
Others on my "have to read" pile are Ruckley, more Richard Morgan, Rothfuss, more Glen Cook, Bakker, Fitzgerald, Leiber, Durham, Coe, Joel Sheppard, etc etc etc. I have a "To Read" list set up on my iGoogle front page and it expands more than it contracts - too many books out there for this slow reader!
Dude - You absolutely have to read Greg Keyes' 'Kingdoms of Torn and Bone' series! It's one of my favourites :o) Make sure that you start with 'The Briar King' though...
Oooooh, I *love* G. G. Kay. Fionavar Tapestry is one of my favorite books EVER and it always makes me cry when I read it again. I'm currently reading his Last Light of the Sun before re-reading the Lions of Al-Rassan (one of my favorites as well) for like the tenth time.
My Pile o' Shame is most of the Dresden Files books. Perhaps it's because I keep thinking that I'll like the first one so much that I won't have the willpower to do anything else but read until the entire series is over, so I keep postponing it as I have a lot of work to do. Dunno.
I have most of those in my pile o' shame too...
The Malazan series haunts me the most.
I have one of those books, which I buy and almost never crack open. For me Guy Gavriel Kay is the main one and then there comes Ursula Le Guin, but I like her, still I somehow end up reading everything else.
Thanks for your comments, everyone! :)
Peta -- glad your enjoying it, and damn you, about time, too! ;)
Sara J -- I'm finding that a lot of other people's piles have books that haven't even hit mine! I consider myself fairly well-read SFF wise, but there are enough books out there to prove anybody wrong in that assumption!
Ellira -- welcome! Ah, I'll bear that in mind for Mr. Wolfe. GGK I'll read soon ... promise!
Oh Heretical One, aka, Jebus -- wow, you're "to read" pile is quite similar to me. And yes, damn those vile bloggers, giving us too many books to add to our ... oh, wait -- damn! (Me).
Graeme -- ;)
Pacamanca -- I need to read the Dresden Files (read the first), too.
Daydream -- I never got into Le Guin. Maybe I was a bit young when I started. Dunno.
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