I'd like to try reading some fiction in the 40k universe and was wondering if anyone has some recommendations. There's a lot of books to decide between so I'm a bit lost. There's also the humble book bundle going on right and it looks like it might be a good deal, but I'm not familiar with any of the authors. Any recommendations would be appreciated!

Edit: following the advice in the responses, I got the humble bundle and am starting out with spear of the emperor. Thanks for all the advice! Definitely want to give eisenhorn a read sometime if I can find an epub at a good price.

First time touching paints in ages, and first time ever doing a miniature. Been having a lot of fun painting the starter kit after work. I'd like to try shading when I finish them all up.

I was struggling a lot with the first layer since the paint wouldn't stick, so I got a Tamiya primer for the space Marines. I think I may have over sprayed a bit since there's some paint that was pooling in the pauldrons.

I've also had trouble getting to some of the tighter spots on the model, especially the 4 guys on one base (the book is in japanese so I don't know the names). Nevertheless having lots of fun! Looking forward to making a kill team or doing one of the board games since I don't have anyone to play with out here.