I am on the second book "The Great Hunt" of The Wheel of Time series.
love that book! im on book 3 now
How are you liking book 3. Is the pace keeping up in that one?
I stopped on that book. It just wasn't as good as the hype. I do plan on getting back to it at some point. I mean, millions of people can't be wrong, can they?
Luckily I haven't had too much of a preconception of the books. I picked them up because they had really good reviews and the series was finished unlike game of thrones. I have read all of the game of thrones books but I have no hope that that series will ever be finished.
How are you liking them so far? I kinda want to read those but Ive heard there are some suuuuper long and dry parts in the series that scare me away. Considering the size of that series a "small" dry patch could be like 4 books long lol
I've tried to read the series twice over the years. Both times I got to about book 6 or 7 and just ended up hating all the characters, the writer, the world, etc. so I just stop. And I rarely stop a series once I start. That said, the first few books are pretty good and I say give them a try! I'm not who you asked, for what that's worth.
I have been enjoying them so far! However, I've heard the same that they do get a little dry in the middle. I'm going to do my best to power through it all though.
Foundation Trilogy, by Isaac Asimov.
I think it's the first modern science fiction book I've read, I read 19th century ones like Verne and Frankenstein before though.
Wow! Funny to hear Asimov described as modern (unless you mean it in the sense of modern vs. classical vs. post-modern etc.). But -- I love those books and want to reread them someday.. Enjoy!
Moby Dick. My first read, loving it so far. 😁
Nice!! I was surprised how funny and entertaining it was. I fully expected it to be crusty and boring (because, old books, right?)
Just wait till you hit chapter 95, The Cassock. I took an AP English class more than 20 years ago that focused mainly on Moby Dick and that chapter still sticks out in my mind.
I'm still reading Malazan Book of the Fallen
FIRST IN, LAST OUT!
Just started the Silo books. Got to the end of the show and I’m too impatient to wait for the next season.
I adored that book series. Just flew through them. Didn't end quite how I wanted but I still loved all of them. Hope you do too!
I loved the show too. Really tempted to pick up the second book.
Great show!!!
Almost at the end of The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went To War in 1914 by Christopher Clark. Highly recommend it to all history lovers!
Never heard of this but I'm always on the lookout for something good that could make me slightly less dumb lol. WWI is a bit of a blind spot in media it feels like sometimes
Never heard of this but I'm always on the lookout for something good that could make me slightly less dumb lol. WWI is a bit of a blind spot in media it feels like sometimes
Just read Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao. Wonderful subversions of many tropes (the classic ya love triangle for one) and filled with rage. It's great.
Oh, hey! I’ve been wondering is it good, love her videos on YouTube
It's a good read. The main character is very angry, very assertive, and very crafty. I would gush about the story more, but all the cool stuff is spoilers. If you ever wanted to see a protagonist go "You know what? I'm gonna burn it all down." then this is the book for you.
I've been reading The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. Love it so far!
This is such a good book! I love novels that totally transport me to their world, and this is one of those.
I’m reading it too at this moment. In Dutch, by the way, which is funny as there are so many references to the Netherlands. Indeed a book to dive into and forget about the here and now, though it’s not particularly a walk in the park there and then. At times it feels a tiny bit slow, but I’m enjoying it so far.
Just finished John Scalzi’s “Lock In”, and enthralling and visionary read!
I haven't read anything by Scalzi I haven't liked.
Ooh I liked that one too!
Continuing my journey in discworld - The Truth
The Truth is a phenomenal Discworld novel. The whole collection is amazing, but The Truth is one of the best works speaking about the world.
Second reading of The Broken Earth trilogy by N.K. Jamison. Each book won the Hugo award for fantasy in the year it was written. They're SO well written-real page turners!
Just started the third Southern Reach book, Acceptance. Wasn't a huge fan of Book 2, but still down to find out more about the various mysteries of the series.
I couldn't get through book two. I made it like 2/3 then read a summary
Loved this series, even if I felt lost at the end still. I have Borne and Dead Astronauts on my to read pile from Vandermeer now.
Eyes of the Void by Adrian Tchaikovsky
In my queue. Can't wait.
God Emperor of Dune. Really liking it so far and I hope to get through the whole chronicle by next year. (I’m not grinding them one after another). Dune (the first book) is one of my favorites of all time.
Also, Make Something Wonderful, a collection of Steve Jobs’ writings and speeches, which was free. I’ve enjoyed it, since I’m in that industry.
Enjoy the read! GeOD is a masterpiece.
The Emperors Soul - Brandon Sanderson
Judgement of Mars by Glynn Stewart. I read the first four books in the series one after the other then took a break, so I’m looking forward to this next installment. This is the first sci-fi series I’ve read that also involves magic. The journey has been great thus far and I’m looking for more recommendations for books with the sci-fi and magic mix.
There was a discussion thread few days back for books that combine sci-fi and magic: https://programming.dev/post/276456
The wee free men by Terry Pratchett
Just about to finish the second book in the Starbucks Chronicles by Bernard Cornwell. I'm an absolute sucker for historical fiction and really enjoy it so far. It's an unfinished series tho 😢
Currently knee deep in The Way of Kings, I took a massive break from it when I originally started as I was a little overwhelmed but I’m flying through the pages now, just started part 3 ^^
Phenomenal. Those books are so good. His other series are really good too.
Roadside Picnic! Any stalker fanatics here?
Reading The Stranger by Camus, listening to Pachinko by Min Jin Lee.
Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson, The Enchiridion by Epictetus, and Letters from a Stoic by Seneca.
I almost exclusively read non-fiction, but I just got done reading Slash's autobiography (the guitarist for Guns N' Roses among other projects), and that book kept me absolutely hooked from start to end. I have no idea how he's still alive after the wild stuff described in that book. Highly recommend this one if you have any interest in rock music.
I shifted from that to a book about the history of the US Postal Service last week, so it's a pretty big contrast in tone.
I'm reading the final book of the Dark Tower series, which is also titled The Dark Tower. It's been such an amazing journey, and I can't wait to see how this epic ends. Still have plenty of time though as it's a little over 1000 pages and I'm on like page 400 lol.
Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
Somewhat randomly I read The Remains of the Day a little while back and loved it, even though it's entirely unlike the stories I usually read.
I'm really enjoying Klara and the Sun too - in-particular I'm enjoying how the story has these quite sharp shifts in where you think the story is going, but they're just dropped casually, almost as a throw-away line, and you're left thinking about the huge implications of so few words.
I also just love Ishiguro's writing style and creativity - it's like he's painting a picture with black on white, and that picture is great - but the white space forms a picture too, and with that he adds so much more.
With each story he's setting out to take you on a specific emotional journey, but he's not holding your hand and showing you so much as guiding you with as little effort as possible such that when you get there, you feel like you got there on your own, and so it hits so much harder as a result - even though he very carefully led you. It's hard to describe! But it's amazing, I'd be surprised if I've not read everything of his soon!
The Far Reaches which is a new collection of SciFi short stories from various authors. I just read #1 by James SA Corey, the duo behind The Expanse books and TV series. I thought it was excellent, great life lessons.
Just finished Robots and Empire. So I think I'm going to read some stand alone before I jump into the Empire trilogy.
Going to read Uzumaki, and Brandon Sandersons Secret Project 3.
I've been slowly working my way through Gunmetal God's as well I may try to finish that in earnest as well.
I'm listening to The Road to Little Dribbling: Adventures of an American in Britain by Bill Bryson. Written by an older, crankier Bryson than I'm used to, but still a decent "read".
Reading The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler. I like the book, but so far I'm finding the world-building and backstories more interesting than the main plot.
I finally started Murderbot series over the weekend. Already done with the first four novellas.
It's so good!!!
just started “the couple next door” by shari lapena, just finished “my murder” by katie williams and “the girls” by emma cline today!
About half way through James Clavell's Shogun. Highly recommended if you're looking for a deep adventure novel!
Currently reading The Light on Farallon Island by Jen Wheeler. It's a novel that follows the story of a young woman in the 19th century who takes a job as teacher for the few children of the lighthouse keepers on remote Farallon Island. As you read, you slowly learn about the life she has run away from.
I'm finishing up A Crown of Swords this evening.
I just started Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam.
Finished reading Blindsight by Peter Watts. I haven’t read this good Science Fiction book in a long time. On to Echopraxis, as it’s a double edition
I just finished The Deluge by Stephen Markley (all 900pp!)
It's basically a US-centric "narrative" of the 2030's, told from the PoV of about a dozen different characters, with the thread of climate change prominent throughout.
Really it's hard to describe it as good or bad, an enjoyable read etc. It is certainly well written, and characterisation is exceptionally good and detailed, but for me it was by turns scary, amusing, depressing, profoundly sad and wrenching in its humanity. I have no reason to doubt its accuracy based on the science.
It took me almost a month to read because I had to take breaks to get my "cognitive dissonance" recharged.
I would definitely recommend it.
It would make a good streaming series on Amazon Prime or Apple TV.
I finished Waybound by Will Wight yesterday. It was a great finish to the Cradle series.
Now I'm on Honor of the Queen by David Weber. I don't think I'll make it through more than about the first five of the Honor Harrington books. They start to transition into a more political series than "space ships go boom", so that's about where I stopped the last time.
Then I've got The Day of the Triffids on my slate, but we'll see if that holds.
Finally finished Universal Harvester by John Darnielle after stalling out on it for exactly three months, sadly. Devouring Anxious People by Fredrick Backman now and loving it. Only 10 books in for the year, and falling way behind my goal.
I'm finally reading Declare by Tim Powers. All I can say is holy shit I never knew how much I needed this book in my life.
Just looked up the description and this book sounds fun, I'll add it to the queue. What about it made you feel this way?
The level of research is evident---Tim Powers doesn't skimp on the details at all. I normally don't like espionage thrillers but he makes the Great Game come alive. And that's before the weirder elements come in.
I'm reading:
- 50 Years of text Games by Aaron Read
- More Boot Sector Games by Oscar Toledo
I just now finished "The Dawn of Everything" by Graeber and Wengrow, which was an excellent investigation into early civilizations and a nod to their cultural implications for modern society. Looking to steal ideas for my queue in this thread!
That sounds interesting!
Currently making my way through The Guns of August. It's pretty dense compared to what I usually read but something about the writing style makes each chapter fly by faster than expected!
The Spy and the Traitor [Non Fiction] by Ben MacIntyre. It's the story of Oleg Gordievsky, a kgb agent who was working with MI6 during the height of the cold War.
I took a chance on it and was pleasantly surprised.
Bit of a strange pairing, but currently reading:
Schoolgirl by Osamu Dazai
Faster: How a Jewish Driver, an American Heiress, and a Legendary Car Beat Hitler's Best by Neal Bascomb
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
@macaronidildo @primevandal
Lolita is very good, very cynical
Arrival by Ted Chiang. Movie was great so though of reading this one. Only in the very beginning though.
Wasn't Arrival based on the short story The Story of Your Life by Chiang? I recommend Tower of Babylon which is in the same collection as Story. Awesome, mind-bending writing.
Lmao yeah you're right. I legit thought the movie was make from the entire book (can you blame from from the cover art though!) and was so fucking confused when it started to talk about the tower of Babylon in the very beginning. First I thought that okay maybe it'll be tied up to the "main story" at some point but after maybe 30 pages I started to think that ah shit please don't be another (bought Books of blood by Barker and was soooo disappointed that it was a collection of short stories) book of short stories. But it was. Just finished tower of Babylon. It was interesting but man, short stories really don't do it for me.
I think I'll just skip to The Story of Your Life and read it and then think about reading the others. Thankfully I did not buy the book, only loaned it.
Currently reading Baseball: an illustrated history. Quite a thick book so I'll probably be reading it for a while. It's a nice change of pace since the book I was reading last month was pop fiction
I have been reading The Mongol Storm: Making and Breaking Empires in the Medieval Near East by Nicholas Morton which I am really enjoying. Nicholas has a clear way of describing events and putting them into context without getting too dry with it. I am also reading A Vast Conspiracy: The inspiration for Impeachment by Jeffrey Toobin which I am a little over half way into, but I am considering just giving up. I have been pecking away at this book for probably 2 months now. It's just too long winded. I don't need to know every single conversation, meeting, plot, dinner that people had - I feel this would have made an incredible long-form article in something like the New Yorker but a multi hundred page book seems to be pushing it for me.
Number Ones by Tom Breihan
A history of the songs that made it to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 list. I'm really enjoying it!
After a decade of literary fiction I'm going back to check on some more mainstream stuff. I'm reading The Dark Tower saga by Stephen King. Just starting the first book.
Exhalation by Ted Chiang. About 3/4 through so far and really enjoying it. The scifi concepts are great and I like that it doesn't always have a black mirror, technology is going to kill us ending.
SS by Barış Pehlivan and Barış Terkoğlu. It's basically a book about Süleyman Soylu's crimes. It's indeed a heavy read, but I think the book does a good job with shedding light on who Soylu really is, so far (I'm at Chapter 5).
The Book That Wouldn't Burn by Mark Lawrence. Such a cool fantasy concept, I'm about 1/4th of the way in.
I also finished Forth Wing this week. It was okay for what it was.
The Vanishing Hitchhiker by Jan Harold Brunvand. Recaptures the magic of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, but as an adult.
Victor Of Tuscon
I’m reading To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf, but only because my girlfriend told me to read from more modernist authors. I’m liking her prose despite the dry beginning, but I’ll see how it comes along over time.
Just finished Rules for a Knight by Ethan Hawke. Very sweet and sad book, enjoyed it very much.
Stand on Zanzibar - John Brunner
Currently reading The Winter Fortress by Neal Bascomb. It’s a good read so far!
Chuck Palahniuk - Consider This
I’m reading Diary by him right now!
I'll have to check it out!
The Journey to the West, translated by Anthony C. Yu. Given that it is 100 chapters long and I'm still at chapter 6 it's gonna take a long time for me to finish, so I'm thinking about reading another book alongside it.
Just finished Iron Gold by Pierce Brown. It feels kind of like a "bridge book" where it wasn't all that great compared to the others in the series so far.
Now I'm off to Shards of the Earth by Adrian Tchaikovsky. I've started to read a lot of his stuff and I'm enjoying them all.
Wow. Your taste in books is right up my alley! I'd add Brandon Sanderson.
I am currently listening to the Way of Kings on Audiobook. I did mistborn years ago and I didn't enjoy it enough to keep going with the series. I've heard the second trilogy is much better.
I'm just about to start Berg by Ann Quin, which seems to be about a man who stalks his dad and mistress through a seaside town. It looks really good from the first few pages.
The Knights of Erador (The Echoes Saga: Book 7) by Philip C. Quaintrell (Kindle Edition)
