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I just wanted to make a quick update on my book list since it’s been a while.

Americans Gods by Neil Gaiman is the first (I think) book in the One Book One Twitter project started by Wired Magazine. The purpose of One Book One Twitter is to get a lot of people talking about the same book. They have a schedule for which chapters you’re supposed to read each week and there’s a Twitter account leading the discussion. I haven’t been taking part in the discussion on the book, but I did like it enough that I read ahead and finished it early.

I’ve heard a lot of good things about Gaiman. I’d never read any of his books, but I had seen the movie Stardust. It’s hard to say too much without spoilers, so I’m just going to go for it. The story is about a man named Shadow who gets out of jail after 3 years. He is hired to work as a bodyguard for a mysterious man named Wednesday who turns out to be a god. This book uses a concept that I’ve seen a few times lately: that gods really exist because people believe in them. When people stop believing, the gods lose their power. You see a lot of old gods and creatures of folklore that were brought here when people settled in America like Loki, Anansi, Anubis, etc. You also see gods based on newer concepts like technology and media. There’s even a god inside the TV. The new gods want to wipe out the old gods. Wednesday is trying to rally the old gods so that they can fight for survival. It’s a good, quick read and I recommend it.

I read The Gathering Storm when it came out last October or November, but never got around to mentioning it here. Brandon Sanderson took over the job of finishing the Wheel of Time after Robert Jordan died. I remember being satisfied with the book overall. There were times where it seemed to drag on with a lot of pointlessness but overall I think he did a great job of keeping it interesting. Right now I just want to know how it ends.

I also read the first 2 books in Joe Abercrombie’s The First Law trilogy. If you like George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, you’ll probably like it. I’ll say more when after I finish the whole trilogy.

I keep adding more to the list.

• Joe Abercrombie, The Blade Itself
• Joe Abercrombie, Before They Are Hanged
• Joe Abercrombie, Last Argument of Kings
• Serenity Found, Jane Espenson
• Incarceron, Catherine Fisher
• American Gods, Neil Gaiman
• The Law of Nines, Terry Goodkind
• The Associate, John Grisham
• The Fourth Hand, John Irving
• The Colorado Kid, Stephen King
• The Stormcaller, Tom Lloyd
• The Day Watch, Sergei Lukyanenko
• The Twilight Watch, Sergei Lukyanenko
• The Final Watch, Sergei Lukyanenko
• Busted Flush, George R.R. Martin
• Suicide Kings, George R.R. Martin
• The Final Crusade, Chaite Naasiri
• The Darker Mask, George Phillips
• The Final Empire, Brandon Sanderson
• The Well of Ascension, Brandon Sanderson
• The Hero of Ages, Brandon Sanderson
• The Gathering Storm, Brandon Sanderson
• Towers of Midnight, Brandon Sanderson
• Titus Andronicus, William Shakespeare
• Bitter Seeds, Ian Tregillis
• The Dragonbone Chair, Tad Williams
• Stone of Farewell, Tad Williams
• To Green Angel Tower, Tad Williams