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What are you currently reading?
What are you reading and what's next on your list? Are you enjoying it or just trying to get to the next book you want to read?
I'm almost finished with Columbine by Dave Cullen. It's an in depth look into what led up to the massacre, the aftermath, and how it could have been avoided. It's a well written book and sadly still very relevant today. I would recommend it to any true crime enthusiast.
Next up is either Mindhunter by John Douglas & Mark Olshaker or Children of Dune by Frank Herbert. I've been in a true crime phase for the last year, but I'm also trying to finish the entire (original) Dune series.
Make sure to check out the recurring thread on this topic. The next installment is slated to be posted this week.
I didn't realize that post was part of a weekly installment. I'll comment there next time instead of starting another thread.
Don’t sweat it, lots of new people still figuring things out! :)
Is there a list of recurring threads we can point people to? This will definitely continue to be a “problem,” inasmuch that it’s not really a problem.
If you browse to a group, a list of recurring topics for that group is in the sidebar.
Entirely off-topic.
But I am digging that vibe.
I’m actually glad you started a new one because the other one was getting so cluttered with all the recent traffic!
Nice to have a fresh start :)
Edit: and judging from the explosion of interest, a lot of other people are glad to have a new topic too, hahaha
Reoccurring threads were the first ones I filtered out. 🤪
Edit: typo
You could create filters for all recurring threads but this one. A little time-consuming but you would only have to do it once.
I just made a filter for the tag "reoccurring" which seems to catch most. I prefer not to see autogenerated posts.
My go-to genre is sci-fi, and the harder the better. However, while I do branch out (and try to hit the classics as well), I've been trying to branch out even more. So below are the results of that recently. If anyone wants some of my sci-fi suggestions, let me know I can I write something up. (Or just go read everything by Neal Stephenson and Peter Watts because that makes up 50% of my list. :-P)
Slewfoot by Brom
Gorgeous artwork, also by the author, is included in the book. Set in Connecticut in 1666 (Hail Satan!). A recently widowed woman, Abitha, lives just outside of a puritan village near a site where an ancient being has awakened. He is called Father and Protector by the mischievous imps who awakened him, and devil by those who cross him. He and Abitha together attempt to discover who they really are while a pius puritan community attempts to destroy them. This quote sums it up best, "If it's a devil you seek, then it's a devil you shall have!" This is the most fun I've had reading in, well, I don't even know how long.
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
The book opens with nonconsentual phone sex. The main character loses his cat, then his wife, and cums in his pants way too often as he attempts to find them. He develops an inappropriate relationship (not that inappropriate, don't worry) with a teenage girl. He crawls into a dry well to think, which transports him to another reality. Strange women help him along the way. Cicadas feature prominently. It's surreal. It's whimsical. It's melancholy and dark. And I hated every goddamn minute of it. It's not that I disliked any character in particular, but even worse, I just don't care about any of them. That said, I cannot stop thinking about the themes presented in the book. Power, isolation, desire, and despair being just a few. It feels less like a dissertation on said themes and more like the casual musings you might have with a friend. What I do like about the book is the surrealism and use of what I'll call magic for brevity and lack of a better term. In that regard it's very Gabriel Garcia Marquez-esque. Barges in, uses magic, refuses to elaborate further, leaves. Even as a primarily very hard sci-fi fan, I really enjoy the lack of apologetics or explanation. You don't need to know how or why this crazy stuff happens, it just does. Buckle up and enjoy the ride. It's best summarized by this quote, "I'd not actually slept with the woman, just cum in my pants."
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
Unlike the previous book, I absolutely loved every word of this (even if much of it was painful). An impoverished melungeon boy, Damon aka Demon, in Appalachia lost his father before he was born, tries to make his way through the foster system where seemingly no one wants him, and life in general, after he also loses his mother to an opioid overdose. The book borrows it's narrative structure from Dicken's David Copperfield. It is largely a critique of systemic, institutional poverty and the US opioid epidemic. The story is at times equally as hilarious as it is utterly heart-rending. There were many moments where I found myself laughing through a burning throat and teary eyes. Having been a impoverished boy deeply affected by parental drug abuse myself, and a transplant to Appalachia, this story hit very close to home. It is not free from criticism. Some have accused it of being poverty-porn, but personally I find that take to be a disingenuous result of criticism-seeking/reaching. It's a (fictional) tale of an all-too-common experience of children in this nation.
As an aside, for a tale in the same vein as Demon Copperhead, I'd highly suggest Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate. A story told through the perspective of a group a siblings trying to stay together, based on the real-life monster of a human being Georgia Tann, who kidnapped literally thousands of children and sold them through illegal adoptions at her Memphis orphanage in the first half of the 20th century. Much less hilarious, and more heartbreaking than Demon, it's wonderfully written and sheds light on the horrors caused by Tann and their reverberations throughout history.
Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
I picked up this collection of short stories/novellas because I'd fallen in love with the film Arrival and wanted to see the source material. As much as I love the movie (and everything Denis Villeneuve touches, really), the novella it's based on, Story of Your Life, is even better in my opinion. It's akin to Fight Club in that I feel both mediums tell the same story very well but differently. While both highly excel in their own right, the original text contains more nuance and detail that can't be crammed into a movie's run time. The similarities end there though. Story of Your Life uses linguistics as a vehicle to tell the, well, story of a woman tasked with making first contact with an alien race while coming to terms with free-will and determinism after/before/during? (you'll see what I mean) the death of her daughter. The story is told in a non-linear fashion and the lines between past, present, and future are erased. It's structure is intelligent and serves to tell the story as much as the words themselves. It's beautifully written, thoroughly researched, heartbreaking, thought-provoking, and somehow comforting at the same time.
While Story of Your Life is the crowning gem of the collection, Chiang's other works are all wonderful and I find it a disappointing that they seem to live in the shadow of it. His thorough research and knowledge of the topics presented are evident through his writing. He excels at exploring deep, heady themes through stories about relatable and believable people set in worlds where antiquated scientific beliefs (geocentricity, celestial spheres, etc.) or biblical concepts/myths (angels, miricals, etc.) are taken as fact and ran with. His prose is often beautiful and poetic while avoiding coming off as pretentious.
I'd highly suggest to start this collection from the start, and not skipping ahead to read Story of Your Life first.
Fantastic write-up! Have to absolutely agree with your review of Stories of Your Life and Others, a stunning collection of stories that really make you think and feel a lot. I think that it is the quintessential Ted Chiang collection, I much prefer it to Exhalation.
The other books you mention seem interesting as well, but the first one to go on my list is going to be Slewfoot.
I would, by the way, be very interested in your sci-fi selections. I've been nervous to get more into the genre since I finished the Expanse series some time ago and haven't come across much (save some of Ted Chiang's stories) that really scratch the itch in the same way.
Kingsolver is such a lovely writer, all her books are so good! Demon Copperhead somehow struck deeper with me than most books; I'd had oxcontin addiction fairly briefly and that made me very aware of how awful it can be.
First of all, I appreciate your openness. This shit can be really difficult to talk about sometimes.
I didn't want to include too much and have it skew my review, but I grew up with meth addicts for parents and Narcotics Anonymous as a babysitter, friends of friends if I was lucky. Later in life I took the vicodin->oxy->heroin road like so many others. I didn't lose my parents. They cleaned up eventually (as did I). But I still suffer from deep-seated cptsd and abandonment issues from - among other things - being just left somewhere for a week while they went on a bender, and the things that happened to me at those places.
Much of reading Demon was like reading someone else tell the story of my life. It ripped off a lot of scabs, some I didn't even know were there. But it was also very cathartic. In a way it makes it better to know we're not alone and the experience is so common. But really that makes it so much worse.
On a lighter note, I'd never heard of her before, but now that I've read Demon I can't wait to read more of her work.
Bravo on getting off the junk! Super hard to do I imagine, as it took me three tries to kick oxy (mine was prescription, for nerve damage .. the first dose I got was a shot of morphine which vanished the extreme nerve pain, so using oxy at first was a huge help).
I'm in a smallish city in California, and as you've probably read there are many homeless people here. I see a lot of unsympathetic press about how they should pull themselves up, just get a job, and all that crap, but after seeing addiction from the inside that lack of sympathy is repulsive. Not implying every homeless person is an addict, but a lot are, and also far too many others have mental problems.
Sorry, a bit of a derail from books lol, but please people don't be closed hearted.
Snowcrash and Cryptonomicon both are favorites of mine from him. If you haven't read them before.
I recently re-read Snowcrash and it's astounding how relevant it still is. Hell, it may be more relevant now than it ever was. I think it's his most fun, entertaining, and action-packed novel.
People sometimes shit on Crytponomicon and the third act of Seveneves for being too slow and/or hard to follow, and I think they're all insufferable monsters for it. ;)
Seveneves - ALL THREE ACTS GODDAMMIT! - is my favorite of his, no question.
Slewfoot sounds interesting, I'm going to check it out!
As a fellow Neal Stephenson fan, you may be interested in one of his more recent books that is so damned odd I struggle to recommend it to people. It is "Fall, or Dodge in Hell". It is a sequel of a significantly more normal book "Reamde". I liken it to him taking the criticism of the third part of Seveneves that it should have been a sequel and not part of the same book because it is fairly outlandish and wild compared the first and second part. Well, that is a good description of "Fall".
The first time I tried to read Cryptonomicon I didn't get far, but the second time I stuck with it and it's probably one of my all time favorite books. The audiobook is amazing as well, and I've probably listened to it half a dozen times.
I need to read Seveneves and the rest of his books
The audiobook for Seveneves is very well done as well. I don't know that it's as well-performed as Cryptonomicon, but as you know, that bar is set pretty high. I actually "read" the audiobook of Seveneves first, then later bought the book and read that too. And now I've listened to the audiobook again because a friend read it and I wanted to be refreshed to discuss it with them. Can't go wrong either way imo.
Nice, I'll add it to my list of next to "read" (audiobook)
I really wanted to like this book. The first part was fantastic, but as the book dragged on and Stephenson kept spoon-feeding info dumps, I had to drop it nearly 50% through.
Chiang is fantastic. Every book he's written!
Currently reading Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, narrated by Chiwetel Ejiofor.
About a man that lives in an infinite House of halls, rooms, statues, and only one other living person. The prose is lovely, the setting is intriguing and mysterious, and Ejiofor's narration is excellent! I'm only about halfway through, though, so no spoilers if you've read it :)
I read the reviews of this! I loved Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell--I mean, there's nothing like that book.
I haven't read that yet! But after what I've experienced of this book so far, it is definitely going on my list!
It's long. And different. So much of the stories is in its footnotes. It's really cool, especially if you like Piranesi. Oh gosh I could give you such a list of books. If your tastes lean toward sci-fi, you must read N.K. Jemisen's broken earth series. But don't read about it first. It is such an incredible and brilliant surprise.
N.K. Jemisen is definitely on my list already! Maybe I'll bump it up a bit based on your rec...
I'm mostly an audiobook listener, too. Would you suggest Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell in print? If a lot is told in the footnotes, I'm wary of how that would translate to audio. Either way, I'm going to have to work on my focus to get through print books: there are a bunch I really want to read, starting with House of Leaves!
I was deeply impressed by N. K. Jemisin's Broken Earth and I want to wholeheartedly second mushpuppy's recommendation. Jemisin writes her characters with such empathy, nuance, and subtlety that I feel she's known them all her life. She brings a very mature perspective to the fantasy genre.
If you've ever been an outsider -- if you've ever felt there was some schism or gulf between you and the world outside you, a canyon you could never quite bridge -- I think you'll find one or two characters in Broken Earth that deeply resonate with you.
I read it in print, but man it was slow.
If you haven't read Iain M. Banks, you should. His Culture series was is the greatest extended sci-fi ever written. He was lyrical and gifted. His death at 59 was a huge loss.
Those I bet, could translate to audiobooks. But, seriously, be prepared. His stories get dark.
I loved Piranesi but I didn't know the audiobook was narrated by Chiwetel Ejiofor, I'm going to have to check it out. I've been a huge fan of his since his role in Serenity and somehow his voice feels like it would be a perfect fit for this book (although what book would a voice like his NOT fit?!)
I have this one on my list! I’ve been on a kick lately with books that are less “every sentence matters” and more meandering. It started with Circe, which lead to a Greek myth kick. So once I’ve gotten through my stack of Greek retelling I’ll check this one out.
I love books like that, too! The "meandering", as you put it, in some reads really makes a character feel more alive to me. (Most) Real people don't think through every syllable of every word they say! I think that an author who can write a character talk about very little while keeping it interesting and still progreasing the story is a very talented author, indeed!
I just finished this book. I loved it more as it went on.
A stark contrast to Strange but a wonderful read. I did not know Ejiofor narrated the audiobook; sounds like a good fit!
Currently, I'm reading Leviathan Wakes, a sci-fi mystery novel. I'm enjoying the worldbuilding and the plot so far, although I haven't reached the halfway point yet, so it may be too early to draw conclusions.
In addition, I'm listening to Catch-22 as an audiobook narrated by Jay O. Sanders. I've read the book before, but this is my first experience with audiobooks, and I have to say, I'm hooked! I was initially hesitant because I was concerned about missing out on details by listening instead of reading. However, after listening to the narration of Catch-22 and still being able to follow the plot, I realized I can do the same for any book. It has been a fantastic experience, and I haven't been missing any details, thanks in part to the easy rewind feature on my audiobook player.
Ooh you are in for a treat with Leviathan Wakes! I picked it up in a Waterstones years ago when it first released and was a fan of the series the whole way through. Definitely my favorite sci fi book series. I wish I could go back and read it again.
Now the TV show has finished I'm going to wait a few years to try and forget what happened before reading it through again with the compendium of short stories.
The world building is fantastic and even when the space opera elements come into play there's always believable characters and politics to keep everything grounded. I've always thought I would write a hard sci fi space opera series one day, but now the expanse is complete it would be hard not to feel like you were aping it.
That's good to know! I've always been more of a hard sci-fi guy and never paid much attention to space operas, so I had pretty low expectations for the "sci-fi" part of the book. I was expecting to enjoy it more for the mystery and the characters. However, so far I've been pleased with both the sci-fi elements and the plot/characters. The political side of the worldbuilding is becoming quite interesting and original as well! I didn't even know there was a TV show for the series :)
The sci fi side of things is very strong. There's not much 'magic' tech involved apart from the Epstein drive and some other stuff that you'll find out about eventually. The rest is very grounded. Having to account for the relative velocity of ships in combat, the effect of g forces on the crew during maneuvers, signal lag when communicating, etc is all brilliantly done imo.
The show is very strong, the first season doesn't quite land the special effects or ship combat for me personally, but the world building and story is very very faithfully done (the creators were heavily involved). I'd read the books first then watch the series afterwards to have the best experience.
Oh man, I absolutely loved all the books in The Expanse series, and honestly wish I could experience them all again.
The TV series is also (in my opinion) the best scifi series in recent times with really accurate depictions of spaceships and space warfare.
I hope you enjoy the first book and continue with the rest!
I was also hesitant to try audio books, but I finally caved after my life became too busy to read for fun. I only have time when I'm driving, cleaning, etc. I do miss some things, but I do have the opportunity to "read" when I would not be able to otherwise.
I have been chewing through some books this month (I am on vacation for the next week and am on the war path).
This week I finished reading:
Books I am reading:
Books on my backlog:
You won't regret Assassin's Apprentice. It starts a little slow, and the prose in the very first chapter was weird to me (it changes almost immediately), but once it starts going...oh it goes hard.
So I have heard! A friend of mine recommended the book and I have been meaning to read it for well over a year now (I have way to many books in my backlog). Looking forward to it!
I really enjoyed the book! For me, though, the series really fizzled out starting with book 2.
Book 3 was a slog for me to finish. There were so many odd story choices and characterization that felt off to me.
Apprentice was a very good read though!
Yeah, I think the issue with Book 3 is that it isn't really an end, but a setup for the rest of the series since it has such wide-reaching implications with everything. Honestly it's not until the third trilogy that all the ramifications became clear, which I can't say is the best storytelling.
Book 2 drove me nuts. Fitz was so dumb! But...I guess so was I at that age. But still!
Reading Dune is a wonderful experience! I feel that I've only truly grasped the plot on my second read, mainly due to its rich worldbuilding and complex characters. Since you've already seen the movie, I believe you will have an easier time understanding the action and narrative.
I am looking forward to giving it a go! I really do like the theme and world of Dune based off the film. Really seems like it has some depth I could sink my teeth in given how long the series is.
Just finished The Lies of Locke Lamora and am on the 2nd book of the series, Red Seas Under Red Skies. Very entertaining books!
Love those but that guy writes slower than George RR Martin.
How does he compare to Rothfuss?
A tiny bit better. We're on his biggest gap so far at 7 years.
Scott Lynch, too, has an ongoing series that has no end in sight.
I need to finish lies of locke lamora! It's on my to do list. What'd you think of it?
Definitely worth it! I tried to read it a couple of years ago and didn’t get very far before stopping for whatever reason. Im so glad a gave it another shot. Clever plot lines, dynamic characters, and all around great storytelling. I don’t usually physically react while I’m reading but this book made me laugh out loud, cringe from disgust, and cheer from excitement. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed if you continue with it!
I’m desperately trying to get through The Fellowship of the Ring for what is likely the 15th or so time, but I never seem to be able to get into it the way I got into The Hobbit. I inevitably give up a few chapters in, but I’m trying to break that cycle.
I'm the same way. I loved the Hobbit but gave up halfway through The Two Towers. I'm sure saying that might infuriate a few people but I could just never get into it. Overall I struggle to enjoy fantasy novels.
I've become a bigger fan of fantasy as I've been more exposed to it, but as much as I want to read Lord of the Rings (huge fan of the movies, the world, the lore, the vastness), I've struggled with it and have been stuck halfway through The Two Towers for about six months now myself. Tolkien is just insanely descriptive in his writing which can be magical and why a lot of people love it, but I often find it a slog.
I was making my best progress when I was following the /r/bookclub's read through on reddit. A lot of newcomers and super fans alike so it was great reading everyone's input and analysis.
Just started The City and The City by China Mieville and it is a really cool concept. Can't wait to see where it goes.
You are in for a treat. As far as I'm concerned, The City and The City was one of the best novels of its year, genre or otherwise. The concept spawned two different TV series, one directly based on the book, and the American series Counterpart. Both are worth watching.
Oh, wow, I did not know there'd been anything Mieville turned into television. Both of those are going on the list.
I'm reading the short stories collection The Best of Greg Egan. Egan is a hard sci-fi author who's a mathematician, so he will often explore deep concepts I can't really grasp. His writings are very transhuman as well, and he uses elements such as virtual copies, mind scanning, aberrant physics and mathematics to address issues of personal identity and what it means to be human. It is very trippy and rooted in science. I've seen him compared to Philip K. Dick, which, oddly, makes some sense, even though PK Dick was a lot less concerned with hard science.
I also read some stories from Ted Chiang's Exhalation, the most interesting was a tale of deterministic time travel in ancient Baghdad, told in a style reminiscent of One Thousand and One Nights.
We posted pretty close together so I didn’t see your comment at first, but Ted Chiang is what got me on my short story anthologies. Exhalation is on my hold list with Libby currently. I’m super stoked for your Greg Egan recommendation! I love me some crunchy math sci-fi, so thank you!
Permutation City was the first Egan I've read. I think it's a good start -- it's more physics/computer science than pure math, though.
A common criticism against Egan is that some of his characters can go so beyond human that they become difficult to relate to, but that is the very thing that makes them deeply relatable to me. Their tragic fixation on what lies beyond is itself intrinsically human.
Dang, not available at my library. I’ll have to check the local used book store before ordering a copy.
That's totally worth it and you can probably get used for cheap :)
Just finished reading Speaker for the Dead for the first time. As a kid, I read Ender’s Game and skipped straight to Xenocide for some reason; I can’t believe I missed probably the best book in the quartet. Both Speaker and Xenocide made me tear up a couple times; they’ve got some truly powerful moments (and also some dull moments of exposition haha). Gonna finish out the series with rereading Children of the Mind next.
If you haven't already read through the Ender's Shadow series I highly recommend it. Bean is a fascinating character.
I’ve been on a short story anthology kick lately. I’ve always had trouble with all or nothing reading, i.e. if I’m enjoying the book I’ll stay up until I’m done. These have been a nice replacement for when NoSleep dies and the overall quality is usually better. So far I’ve read the following:
Prior to this, I tried to get into some lesser known authors in the transgressional fiction genre because I really like Chuck Palahniuk. I read I Miss the World by Violet LeVoit and, well, if Guts is your favorite Palahniuk story maybe the climax in this book is for you, but it certainly paused my venture into lesser known authors of the genre.
Stories of Your Life and Others sounds really interesting. I just added it to my Amazon cart. Thanks for the recommendation.
I also suggested Story of Your Life and Others in my comment. I'd give the actual novella Story of Your Life 9/10 (I don't know if there is a 10, so 9 is pretty damn good imo). But again, I'd like to stress that the other stories included in the collection are great as well.
I'd also suggest Usula K. Le Guin. The Dispossessed is one of my favorite books. Ever. I much prefer the Hannish Cycle books (of which The Dispossessed and The Left Hand of Darkness belong to) than the Earthsea series. But, many others would disagree. She's an amazing author.
I definitely agree that the other stories in the book are worth attention. I know Tower of Babylon gets some, but Understand may be my favorite.
This is my first foray into Le Guin’s short stories and I haven’t been disappointed so far. I think the popularity of a series can inflate its rating, which I think is what happens with the Earthsea series. It’s certainly not my favorite work, but it’s definitely still worth a read.
I actually found it because it has the short story Arrival (the movie) is based on. The short story is different enough so it’s still worth a read, but it wasn’t even my favorite story. Tower of Babylon seems to be a favorite although I quite enjoyed Understand. Hope you enjoy the collection as much as I did!
Also I just finished my re-read through the Dune series before the movie came out. I think it still holds up as a pretty solid series. It’s also wild how influential it was. You can see it everywhere once it’s fresh in your mind.
An old classic but I recently read Solaris for the first time. It's a first contact story that really challenges what it means to be truly alien. In this case, the "intelligence" we meet is a planet-spanning ocean, which we try to communicate with and inadvertently anthropomorphize.
I really enjoyed it (10/10) but, I don't think I've ever been so deeply unsettled by a book before. When I completed it, I had to take a long walk alone just to process my thoughts. It definitely warrants a reread in the future.
Currently reading the Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne about an Irish orphan boy who grows up to be a gay man. It has some very funny and some very sad moments.
Currently reading Fight of the Century Writers Reflect on 100 Years of Landmark ACLU cases.
Currently reading Best of Poetry Thoughts that Breathe and Words that Burn.
Next up is Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki. I'm also going to join the group read of Roadside Picnic here
Making my way through the Realm of the Elderling series by Robin Hobb. I started in March and am now on to the fourth set of books starting with Dragon Keeper. A friend of mine had been telling me about them for years but I never got around to them. Now she gets sporadic texts from me about all my feelings!
Currently going through the Heroes by Joe Abercrombie, first I wasn't sure if I'm going to like it but the more I've read the more I've liked it, now about 25% through it. Next up probably going to pick up Blood Meridian again, that book really shines when read outside when it's very warm and the sun is shining.
You can never go wrong with some Cormac McCarthy.
I've been inhaling Shantaram. I know it's embellished but what an incredible story.
I have been slowly making my way through a re-read of Guards! Guards!, mostly because I wanted to get back into Discworld. It's a funny book for sure, but it also has a very cozy vibe. I've only read a couple of Night Watch, and Mort, so far, but am super glad that a series like Discworld exists, which not only has comedy, which is rare in itself in literature, but also my other favorite genre of fantasy. I'd be keen to hear of any other suggestions for witty books. I think my favorite other has been The Importance of Being Earnest by the OG Wilde. It's short, but oh so funny. Almost as if the vibe of a show like Arrested Development were put into words, but over a century ago.
Also picked back up, Debt: The First 5000 Years by Graeber. It starts off with disabusing the notion of there existing, a barter system before a credit system. But when it made a statement about never clearing your debts in society, that was a lightbulb moment. (i.e, when someone gifts you something worth exactly X, you wouldn't want to gift them back something of exactly the same value X, that could sort of indicate that you are, in a way closing the balances in your give and take relationship).
In the meanwhile, I ripped through Vicious by V. E. Schwabb in about a day. It's an interesting, quick read, ala Megamind.
If you like Pratchett check out Good Omens.
I highly recommend at least 75 percent of the Discworld books. I chose to read them all. Night Watch is one of my absolute favorites.
Other funny books I have enjoyed, The Heart's Invisible Furies (very sad in parts but very funny), Rumpole of the Bailey, Robert Asprin Myth Inc series and Phules Company series, Calahan's Cross Time Saloon series
It's hard for me to read these days, due to a horrific divorce that ended 3+ years ago and still is messing with me. But some of my favorite writers--Lucius Shepard (R.I.P.), M. John Harrison, Iain M. Banks (R.I.P.), Joe Hill (caught up with comics these days), N.K. Jemisin--they've rewarded me so much.
It's really cool because my son has become a fan of Vonnegut.
I'm very sorry to hear about your divorce. Wishing you a brighter future.
Thank you. But I'm doing okay, really. Aside from PTSD, I was blessed, because somehow, miraculously, I was able to make good decisions.
My children love me; my career is blooming.
Life is struggle; but suffering is optional.
Hugs!
Try audiobooks, I don't have a lot of time to read these days, so when I'm outside working on the farm, I listen to audiobooks.
I recently read “The House in the Cerulean Sea” and really enjoyed it. It’s a feel-good cozy story that always put me in a good mood after reading (which is exactly what I want).
I picked up the book William Blake vs. The World because I was tickled by the fact that the cover looked like a YA novel. In fact, some of the libraries in my regional system shelve it as "fiction" for this reason. But it is not fiction, it is a portrayal of William Blake's worldview as someone who constantly experienced visions and somehow still functioned and created art. The author is a close reader, but the writing style is too intimate for an academic publication; it is an emotional tribute to Blake. This kind of book is usually published by a vanity press, so I am really pleased that a major publisher picked it up and dressed it up as a YA novel.
Currently working through three new ones and some old favorites:
I love how many people in the thread seem to be reading Ted Chiang simultaneously. I re-read Stories of Your Life maybe two weeks ago. So good.
Currently reading "The Mongol storm" by Nicholas Morton which is about the Mongol empire and how it came to be. I am only about 10% it but so far I am enjoying it. The background of politics and rulers of other areas at the time puts the story into good perspective and makes it really interesting.
Just finished Now is Not the Time to Panic, a YA novel by Kevin Wilson. It was a nice break from the Stormlight Series.
For the past year or two I have almost exclusively read Warhammer 40K lore. Currently I am making my way through The Magos before bed and listening to The Hollow Mountain while on walks. After that I am going to keep reading the Siege of Terra part of the Horus Heresy.
These books aren't that hard to read, so they are a perfect tool for me to disengage from screens before bedtime. If I read for 40 minutes I rarely have trouble sleeping and these books are enjoyable to me! There's also so much lore and content that I can probably keep reading for the foreseeable future without running out of content.
I have always been curious about Warhammer 40k. Is there an order the books need to be read?
I actually wrote a comment with some suggestions for introductory stories in another thread here on Tildes. You can find it here!
"To Poison A King" by S.G. Prince. I am loving her style and prose, and surprisingly found myself hooked after the first sentence.
I'm doing The Stand -- its great and everybody knows it.
Queue:
If you like books about law I suggest A Civil Action by Jonathan Harr. It's about an environmental toxics case and how the town is impacted and how the attorney struggles to make this massive case work and survive professionally.
nice! I'm on it. Thanks for this.
I always wish they had written a Michael Clayton series of novels.
Currently reading Just this is it by Taigen Dan Leighton, an anlysis and exploration of the teachings of Tang dynasty era Chan Master Dongshan. His teachings led to the formation of the Caodong school which took root in Japan as Soto Zen, which is one of the most well known schools of Zen in the west. A difficult read requiring some more discipline than I usually prefer when reading, this one feels a bit more like studying. I am only 50 pages in though... Leighton's Cultivating the Empty Field was a more enjoyable introduction to the practices and doctrines of Caodong chan, primarily the practice of silent illumination.
I'm not currently reading anything yet, but I did just finish No Easy Answers by Brooks Brown - it's also about Columbine, from the perspective of someone who was friends with the shooters.
You're absolutely right that the relevance of something like this should be alien to us, but it's all too real in modern society. I don't necessarily agree with everything that the author says, but ultimately it was fascinating to have that in depth explanation from someone closer to it than I ever could be.
I'll definitely have to check that out. I'll try to read it while Columbine (the book) is still fresh in my mind.
Currently reading The Green Mile which has been fantastic.
Planing on reading Wool by Hugh Howey after!
Going to definitely add Columbine to my reading list. Currently reading Lindbergh: The Crime by Noel Behn. Very good book. It’s about the Lindbergh kidnapping, how the man convicted of the crime might be innocent, and how there was possibly a coverup by Lindbergh.
I've been reading The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber (anthropologist, anarchist, and author of Bullshit Jobs) and David Wengrow. It's a very eye opening look at early human societies, and challenges the narrative of hierarchy and inequaltiy being inevitable when society becomes more complex. It also discusses how much political experimentation was done by early humans. It's pretty dense, but I like it.
I'm ashamed to say it, but I haven't read much during my life. I did recently have a little trip to Malta in February, where I got 2 books for 6 euros. I thought it was a good cheap way to try to get into reading, just like my other peers. I went for The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown and The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly.
The first one took me about 2 months to finish but surprisingly, I really enjoyed it. There were days where I did just keep on flipping through the pages, eyes on the words and only the words, and the ending was honestly quite surprising, but I liked it!.. even though I did come to learn that it's actually the third book in a series of books so...
Unfortunately, it's been a bit slower with the second book. I do want to read it, I've read the first few chapters and the premise seems interesting but I just can't sit down and read it for the life of me. I don't know, maybe some day I'll pull it out of my closet again 🤷♂️
If a book isn't working for you, I encourage you to try a different one. Think about whether you want horror or romance or science fiction or nonfiction or fantasy or... Thinking about what television, movies, games you like can help you decide.
Not in the middle of anything at the moment, but the last book I read was The Host by Stephenie Meyer. Pretty good, the basic premise:
Click to expand spoiler.
Bodysnatching alien invaders have deemed humanity unworthy of Earth and conquered it in the name of love and pacifism. The story picks up when they have nearly won, following one of these aliens who finds that her host is resisting her control and tries to get rid of it, only to fall in love with her host's family through its memories and run off to seek them out. She stumbles across a human hidey-hole, where the refugees have to figure out how to handle an alien parasite walking up to the front door of one of the last bastions of humanity on the planet wearing the corpse of one of their loved ones and saying "hey everyone, just wanna be sure you're doing okay in there!"Likely the next book I'll be reading is the third of Brandon Sanderon's "Secret Projects", which releases July 1st. Very excited for this one, loved the sample chapters and I can only imagine the interior art will be stunning.
I'm still waiting on book 2 to arrive, I believe its the only !Cosmere book in the kickstarter, but it's from Sanderson so I know it will be good.
I really enjoyed SP2, but it seems to be among his more controversial books. Hope you have fun with it like I did!
I just finished Empire of Grass, the second book of The Last King of Osten Ard, which itself is the sequel to Memory, Sorrow and Thorn, by Tad Williams. Good story so far!
About to start Waybound, the 12th and final Cradle book.
Waiting on the next Dresden Files book, so right now I'm going through the Grey Man series. Really enjoying it.
Pebble in the sky by Isaac Asimov. It's a pretty short book that i think fits somewhere in his Foundation series which I've never read. But am planning on ordering.
I'm going to finish with it tonight at work, which is will I'll start in on another Asimov book called Nemesis.
I just read through all the Foundation books and they are definitely worth your time. After reading it, it also cemented that I should not watch the Apple TV adaption because it would have to be wildly different which I am positive would annoy me.
I recently picked up a physical book which I haven't read in a while (I've mostly been reading digital but it doesn't scratch the same itch). It's a Stephen King short story anthology called The Bazaaar of Bad Dreams.
I also enjoy physical books more than ebooks. I like the break from a screen.
I'm always reading Gravity's Rainbow.
Also currently reading Solenoid, by Mircea Cărtărescu. It's written in first person, by sort of an alternate Mircea. An anti-Mircea. From what I gather, it is loosely based on Cărtărescu's life as a school teacher in Romania. This anti-Mircea begins to experience and document anomalies that happen to him. The book could be classified as surrealism. Here's some of the best writing I've every read, from Solenoid:
A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon
The chosen mode for the story flow has been a bit challenging for me, but not so much as to overcome my interest in the story. I've enjoyed it much and will see it through.
Such a gorgeous cover too.
I just start reading 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos.
For some months, I usually follow Peterson on YouTube and Instagram, and I've been curious about his book.
Second book in the three body problem series. Enjoying it so far. The world building is extremely interesting. There was some slight Harry Stu in the first book that seems to have worked itself out.
A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab - is good so far, it had me interested in the different Londons from the start and I'm excited to see where the series goes, I think its 3 books
I'm listening to Nemesis Games, the 5th book the The Expanse series, by James S.A. Corey. Each book so far has been amazing and I highly recommend the series to anyone interested.
I just started reading How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix. So far its pretty good, though I really just started it. I love the horror genre and I've read all the big hitters, so I'll take what I can get.
Chronicles of Prydain... Currently at the Black Cauldron. It's amazing how different from the Disney movie is.
Currently reading Book 4 - Rhythm of War from the Stormlight Archive. I started the series in February and have absolutely blown through it. I am sad that I am almost caught up with this series but excited to start the other Cosmere Universe series from Brandon Sanderson. I am thinking of going towards the Mistborn series next.
Recently finished The Kingkiller Chronicle Book 1: "The Name of the Wind" and loved it! After finishing it and getting ready to start the next book in the series, I found out that the community has been waiting on Book 3: "Doors of Stone" for about 10 years with no sign of release. I can't bring myself to dive back into the series if there's a chance the story and characters never get a conclusion, so I'm holding off until Patrick Rothfuss provides a solid update / releases a preview (recognizing that the wait could be years / never happen).
In the meantime, I got back into the "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" series and love it! It's a fun, hilarious, easy read. Just wrapped up "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe" and plan to keep on going.
I was gifted a trilogy of the first 3 Dune books earlier this year, and had a chance to properly get into it recently while on holiday. Now on the 3rd book, Children of Dune. I had been enjoying it but I think I'm starting to burn out on it now. It paints a pretty grim future for mankind.
After a really difficult divorce, which shot my focus, I've finally been able to start reading again. Comics! I strongly recommend Mind Mgmt, by Matt Kindt. Which starts when a reporter, upon seeing a news report about a flight in which every passenger lost their memory, tells her agent, "I want to write about that". Her agent replies, "Again?" Starts one of the greatest conspiracy stories I've ever read.
And Lazarus, and Gideon Falls. There actually is a whole lot of amazing writing these days. Outside of Marvel/DC.
Lucius Shepard (RIP), M. John Harrison, Iain M. Banks (RIP), N.K. Jemisin--there are so many great writers who have gifted us.