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What are you reading these days?
What are you reading currently? Fiction or non-fiction or poetry, any genre, any language! Tell us what you're reading, and talk about it a bit.
What are you reading currently? Fiction or non-fiction or poetry, any genre, any language! Tell us what you're reading, and talk about it a bit.
After reading a couple ARCs for book reviews I was working on, I read through Fight Club for the first time in several years for a book club. It's been a while since I've even seen the movie, but I find that's a book that's really hard to read without recalling the images from the movie.
Anyway: Fight Club is interesting to me because it's undoubtedly a critique of capitalism and consumerism, and Tyler's arguments (at least initially) seem compelling and you can understand why so many of the members of Project Mayhem fall headfirst into his rhetoric, but by the third act it's clear that Tyler doesn't actually give a shit about what he's professing and just wants to cause chaos. I don't know that it undoes all of the rather valid criticisms of consumerism elsewhere in the novel, but I did take a lot of time to step back and wonder how the twist affects the political/social arguments that are made. Is it critical of all attempts at opposing capitalism or just Tyler's thinly-veiled fascist ones?
Somewhat unrelated, but I'm sort of fascinated by Pahlaniuk's suggestion that Fight Club is a modernized Great Gatsby. I don't know that I entirely agree with that claim, but when you reduce it to is basest parts, the ingredients are there: "It was 'apostolic' fiction," he says in the afterword in my edition. "[W]here a surviving apostle tells the story of his hero. There are two men and a woman. And one man, the hero, is shot to death."
I don't particularly like Pahlaniuk's writing outside of Fight Club. I think he works too hard to be transgressive for the sake of being transgressive rather than just telling a good story. Survivor was one of the most bizarrely frustrating books I've read in the last 15 years. But Fight Club is always worth coming back to, at least.
Back to those ARCs. I read and reviewed Nick Fuller Googins's The Great Transition which came out last week and I really want everyone I know to pick up a copy ASAP. It's one of the most captivating debuts I've read in a really long time.
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. This one was brought to my attention by @mrzool on this thread. Mrzool would have done a better job of explaining the book in that thread. And yes it is weird, so far.
And I am also reading/listening the first Wheel of Time book.
I read The Master and Margarita several years ago after seeing an AMA by Jamie Hyneman of MythBusters fame. Granted, he has a degree in Russian linguistics and the book is much more accessible to him than a casual reader who simply enjoys some of the Russian classics. (As a side note, if you watch sports you might be interested in one of Hyneman's inventions in particular.)
I try to read one or two books a year that are "interesting" from a literary perspective. Right now I'm halfway through reading The Warriors, a 1965 novel by Sol Yurick. It's about a gang of young people (boys, literally) in New York City, except the story largely parallel's Xenophon's autobiographic Anabasis, which is about Greek mercenaries attempting to return home.
I can't really say that I'm enjoying The Warriors, but it's not so off-putting that I've put it down, either. There's a lot of slang and wording that just doesn't jive (and I wish it was Jive, because that would be fun). The writing is kind of amateurish both in its storytelling flow and writing style on top of the informal narration with a fair amount of slang woven in. While there's a film adaptation from about 40 years ago, there's apparently a stage play in the works and I think that would actually be the most ideal medium for this story -- similar to how the film 300 was shot in a pretty flat way -- and I don't even like plays. So I'm interested to see how that works out.
For the film for "The Warriors", I grew up with the understanding that it was supposed to be a cheesy movie. When I finally saw it, it definitely had some of those elements. But one of the things that surprised me was how immersive it felt to me. At the end I felt like I had been up all night traveling through NY home with them. It struck me because I wasn't expecting that.
YMMV though, I don't know how common my experience of the movie is.
Cool, thanks for the info. If I come across the film I'll give it a look. So far the book is very much giving a sense of traveling through NYC as part of the group, but the pacing and some of the events kinda detract from my enjoyment. The film might be better but I can't overstate how well I think this would work out as a stage production (and some cleaning up of the story), so I'm hopeful the movie is at least worth a watch once for the sake of comparison.
I read the Master and Margarita with r/classicbookclub. I'm glad I had the social support and access to the different interpretations and perspectives. I ended up liking it a lot.
The Master and Margarita has been on my to-read list since I stumbled on this article by Maciej Cegłowski (the Pinboard.in guy, if that means anything). You might like some of his other recommendations.
Glad to hear you're enjoying the book! :)
So far I am enjoying it. And no problems.
Doom Guy: Life in First Person by John Romero
A memoir by John Romero about this life and how got into programming Computer Games. It's pretty interesting so far, though I've only read about 5 chapters now, I'm very much enjoying it. Romero had a pretty intense childhood--poverty, drugs, murder, domestic abuse--which is kind of crazy, but he seems to be totally humble and at peace with it. I'm a sucker for anything related to Doom or early id software and having read Masters of Doom several times already (can't believe that book is over 20 years old!), it's interesting to have a more in depth peek and a first hand account from one of those creators.
I'm reading 'Icehenge' by Kim Stanley Robinson. I've read quite a bit of his work, and have yet to be disappointed by any of it. This one seems a bit different from his typical approach, however. It's written in first perspective which is not typical for him, but he does it in his typical way of following different characters throughout, so its written from the first perspective of different characters.
I wasn't sure at first how I felt about it, but now that I'm halfway through I've hit the point where I can't put it down. I think my initial uncertainty stems from when the first character decides not to pursue a plot line that I really wanted to see followed, and instead goes and does something else. Like the interesting story was purposefully missed to pursue a less interesting story, but boy howdy was I wrong.
I still hope he circles back around to that missed opportunity before the end of it, but even if he doesn't, this book definitely holds up to the superb quality of the rest of his works. And I can still say with certainty that I would recommend any and all of his work to people who enjoy sifi. He is truly a master of his craft.
Im also reading (well, listening to) a Kim Stanley Robinson book, Green Mars.
I had to take a break after red mars. The descriptions of the world felt too long at times, and some of the characters plots I found myself uninterested in. Others I enjoyed.
Just started so I haven't really formed an impression yet, tbh.
I read Red Planet in high school and got maybe 50-100 pages into Green Planet and just couldn't do it anymore. It was all so dry to me haha
I've tried to read Red Mars about 3 different times but I'm lost WAY early in the book. I can't even figure out who the characters are and such. Feels like a lot of work every time, but I've heard so many good things about it I keep thinking maybe there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
A good intro to him that still has a number of characters in his style, and traverses big places of seeming inhospitable land I would say is 'Antarctica'. It's tight enough and not too overwhelming with the amount of characters but still plays with his main themes: environmentalism and environment, future but conceivably so, psychological states, problem solving, physical science, and practical athleticism.
He has a few other books outside of the hard science that are fascinating too. Such as 'Galileo's Dream,' 'Years of rice and salt,' and 'Shamen.' All excellent in my opinion while being a complete departure from his typical work.
One of his most recent, 'Ministry for the Future,' takes place only about 30 years out from now, and takes on climate catastrophe and global policy in a fascinating and thoughtful way.
I'm definitely biased towards his work, however, so obviously I might not be the most reliable in my push for anyone who's willing, to read his work.
I LOVE the Mars trilogy! Yeah, his work isn't for everyone. He definitely has an obsession with geology and land that can be a bit much for some, but personally it scratches an itch for me I didn't even know I had. Green and Blue Mars are much more focused on the political atmosphere and social evolution than Red is, which might be more suited to your interests? Also, characters I was unsure about in Red really have some interesting developments in the next books.
I just read an interview with him recently where he mentioned that he really likes when he gets the opportunity to take a long walk in his books. The short story sequel to the Mars books is basically one long walk about. Hope you enjoy Green!
I've heard green and blue have a bit of a different flavour vs. red. Im looking forward to seeing where this read takes me. Thank you :)
If you think of it, let me know your reflections after you finish Green! Even if it comes down to, 'cool, but I think I'm good.'
I bookmarked this comment, so I'll do my best :)
I picked up Seneca's "Letters from a Stoic," and "Meditations" by Marcus Auerlius. I've read a lot of articles on mental health recently that reference stoicism; I find them interesting, gives me things to think about and apply to my own life. I figure I might as well go straight to the source, and do the reading myself.
I learned a lot from Breakfast with Seneca.
Well, that's one thing we've got!
Do comics count here? I just happen upon the Marvel Grand Design series at the library, and it's super fun! They are condensed retellings of classic superhero comics-- so far I've enjoyed X-Men and Fantastic Four, and there are several other series I'm hoping to get through the library. The art is really well done, its by alternative comics artists (Ed Piskor did the X-Men one, most known for the Hip Hop Family tree). I've never been a diehard comics reader, so it's a fun way to see some of the well known characters in a new light.
DOOM Guy: Life in First Person by John Romero
I came across this book at my local library as it was highlighted as a new non-fiction book. I didn't even know it existed, and it's the exact kind of book for me. Reading this is so motivating as a programmer. Nothing better than learning about an admirable person in your field.
Snap.
"The King in Yellow" by Robert W. Chambers. It's a collection of short stories that form a neat bridge between victorian ghost horror of the 1800s to more contemporary supernatural horror, and I learned that it inspired some of Lovecraft's work.
It's not an easy read due to everyone talking like civil war generals, but the ideas behind the stories are cool. They are unsettling, but usually scaled small and rely more on thriller-style creepiness than gore or monsters. They're intriguing while being wholly different than stories that you would see in Barker's Books of Blood collections. They have a huge gothic streak, dealing with melancholy and mental illness like older works, but also more tangible fears like violent death at the hands of a knife-wielding maniac, or the titular play that drives even the most sane people mad. The supernatural forces in the book aren't just pale ladies and whispers in a mansion, it's real and omnipresent and dangerous and hunts various protagonists in whatever form it emerges as. Characters dream of a place from the play that calls to them, and it might be imaginary or it might be an impossible, terrifying dimension, and you can see how Lovecraft took inspiration from these novel ideas in his own work.
Highly recommend checking it out if you want to see a key evolution in horror writing and want to appreciate the precursors to landmark spooky writing in the future. I can't say it's quite entertaining enough or paced well, or readable enough to enjoy in its own regard, I don't think I'd enjoy it without consideration of the historical context.
Lady Death a memoir by Pavlichenko, Women Don't Ask :Negotiation and the Gender Divide, Maestro by Peter Goldsworthy which is set in Darwin Australia and is a beautifully written coming of age novel about a young music student and his teacher a refugee from Vienna after WWII. The first book of the Founding of Valdemar by Mercedes Lackey.
Let me know how you're liking the Founding of Valdemar series. At a used book store I bought Lackey's Magic's Pawn series and the start of another one but haven't gotten around to them yet. I'm not sure I've read any of her work yet. However I've read some of her contemporaries and among them is my favorite fantasy author, so I'm always looking for more long-form fantasy.
The early Valdemar novels brought me joy as a teen and young adult. Today I consider them popcorn or cotton candy, not substantive fantasy literature. Wizard of Earth Sea or the Last Unicorn or even the Fahrd and the Mouser books or the Once and Future King or Watership Down are all better books. But Lackey can tell a good story. It feels good to me to get the origin story of Valdemar the country now that she is finally getting around to writing it. Also Magic's Pawn and sequels included gay characters before that was at all common and she deserves credit for that.
A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine. It's a real page turner. I just started it last night and stayed up way too late reading. Already halfway through. The world building of the Teixcalaanli Empire is exquisite. Excited to get to the next book in the series.
Wrapped up The Time Traveler's Wife. Interesting concept that kept me going but it leaned a little more on the romance vs. Sci fi side for me. Also, I felt like non-white supporting characters were written uncomfortably stereotypically.
Also finished roadside picnic recently after a long library wait. I tried to get a second read-through in before the due date as I missed a bit of the end (listening to the audiobook too tired) but ran out of time. May pick it up again in the future I found it really interesting.
If you feel like it you could comment on the book club thread here. https://tildes.net/~books/16yz/tildes_pop_up_book_club_discussion_topic_for_roadside_picnic
Thank you! This book club is what pushed me to finally read the book. But once i finished, i felt like i was still mulling things over too much to contribute properly :)
I watched the movie and the series on hbo max and it was pretty good
The Frontiers Saga by Ryk Brown.
I've written about this before here but something just dawned on me the other day and it's kinda dumb and hilarious to me...
So I wanted to read the books behind the show The Expanse after really enjoying it so I just googled "The Expanse book" and found this series because book 7 is called "The Expanse." I'm almost done with book 5. It's good. I'm not so well versed in sci-fy so I'm a bit hesitant about the quality but I'm on book 5 so it must be entertaining. It has a focus on military tactics and battles (which really isn't my thing) that become more apparent throughout but the overall story and characters are somewhat interesting. I'm listening to these books and the narrator (Jeffrey Kafer) while a bit dramatic makes it work well and is now part of why I've kept listening.
Then the other day I was browsing the r/books subreddit and someone casually mentioned the real books behind the show...as it turns out I just made it through 5 books that have nothing to do with the show without noticing anything. The weird thing is that I could see the plot of the TV show developing through these books and was looking forward to get to the part where the show started. Talk about confirmation bias haha...
Just finished "Deus Ex: Black Light" by James Swallow. Really good bridge between Human Revolution and Mankind Divided. Something scratched the itch recently and now I desperately want more of that universe, because it is insane.
Before that it was "The Ballad of Black Tom" by Victor LaValle. Fantastic story that I believe was a Lovecraft novel first? This one is apparently a retelling but based on the view point of a Black-American man. Phenomenal bit of work that one.
Reading The Croning by Laird Barron and "Unpopular Essays" by Bertrand Russell at the mo. Enjoying the juxtaposition of those two!
Lately I've been stressed and busy and haven't had time or energy to read anything heavy, but I still wanted something other than my phone to read when I have a few free minutes. I've discovered and fallen in love with books of comedic short stories.
I highly recommend "New Teeth" and "Hits and Misses" by Simon Rich. A variety of very clever and funny stories that each take only 5-10 minutes to read.
I've finished reading the Seasonal Quartet by Ali Smith. Some say that it is better to read the series with the seasons, but I'm far too impatient for that, so I binge-read it all (spending hours travelling on trains helps).
The books intertwine with each other – just like the seasons – with overlapping characters and concepts (mainly contemporary issues in the United Kingdom: e.g. Brexit, immigration, and national identities). I think the primary purpose of the series is to expose connections between people, between history and the present, and between political concepts*. If this seems hazy, that’s because it is. I find that Smith’s writing can verge on ham-fisted. Chapters segue from as disparate as a family conversation through to immigration detention centres – it’s easy to get whiplash.
Smith’s Seasonal Quartet was written to be topical. In fact, Smith employed a strategy of delaying finalising the manuscript to as close as the publication date as possible, so to keep the books close to the throb of British political happenings. This is both a blessing and a curse: the books do feel contemporary, but they mainly litigate Brexit-related political issues, rather than other salient UK issues (public services, the constitution, health outcomes etc.) due to it really being the zeitgeist of the 2016-2020 period the quartet was written and published in. Furthermore, Smith’s characters are largely middle-class; most are or seemingly will be educated to at least an undergraduate degree standard; it really feels like literature geared towards the pro-European liberals of southern England. This undermines the undertone of the books: that we are all connected to each other, both on these islands and further afield.
My favourite book of the four was the first one, Autumn. The final instalment, Summer, was a close second. My least favourite by far was Spring, the penultimate novel, as it felt especially sanctimonious.† All told though, I’m glad that I read the Seasonal Quartet.
(I don't know how to make spoiler tags on Tildes, so this will have to do...)
*E.g. comparing the ‘othering’ of migrants - particularly irregular migrants - in the UK, to internment of German-origin Britons during WWII while pointing out that the British people ‘rose up’ to their decency and ended internment in 1941... as compared to the treatment of refugees in the modern day.†A security guard called 'Brit' responsible for calling a security firm on a child refugee? A child refugee who can somehow walk into an immigration detention centre and magically get a bunch of people to converge on a location in the Scottish Highlands? Too forced...
I've never heard of these books, but they look interesting. Thanks.
Currently reading House of Leaves, after I finish this it'll be either more of Berserk or a book I found about China in the Second Sino-Japanese War.
Not far enough into House of Leaves to say too much about it, maybe a quarter in, but it's been very interesting so far
I enjoyed reading A House of Leaves. Now that I think about it, the story isn't all that great. Can't say I remember much about it. But the reading itself is an amazing experience.
Just finished The Gunslinger by Stephen King. Dark Tower has always interested me, but didn't want to commit to a 8 book series, particularly because I know it geta weird and meta. Gunslinger simple so far, at least.
You're in for a ride. Does it displease you that things get a little meta? It's a pretty good story regardless.
Depends on how it's done! I know the series gets controversially weird, but not much beyond that. I was surprised by how simple The Gunslinger was. It's laser focused on Roland, Jake and the man in black.
As you read the following books, that first one may be recontextualized. I definitely enjoyed those parts of the story, though. There were only two parts I really disliked, both of which are some kind of controversial:
Spoiler for the waste lands (2 words)
Demon sex. Even though this is the most beloved book in the series.Roundabout spoiler for the final book (6 words)
The death of a certain character.Regarding the first spoiler, something like that happened in the first book too. And, well, it's Stephen King. He can get... weird about that sometimes.
I've now borrowed the Drawing of the Three, and holy crap, it's twice as long. This is going to be Harry Potter all over again.
Indeed, The Gunslinger and book 6 (Song of Susannah) are the smallest, I believe. Song of Susannah is a weird one because a chunk of what seems like it should have been in that book is in book 7 instead (The Dark Tower, the longest if memory serves me).
That said, Drawing of the Three is pretty interesting, and the true beginning of the story. If you like it, you're probably good to go until book 5 inclusive, except for that bit I mentioned. If you're a King fan you're sure to recognize all the references to his other works too.
Funnily enough, I'm not much of a King fan. It's just that Dark Tower has been a passing interest for me for like a decade, and I just decided to take a plunge.
Can I ask you, are there 7 books or 8? I'm a bit confused on the reading order since I think there's a book after the 7th.
There are 8 books including The Wind Through The Keyhole, which was released after the original 7 book series was over, and chronologically slots smoothly between books 4 and 5. You might call it book "4.5". I was trying to be careful when mentioning numbering!
Books 4, 4.5 and 5 all have flashback sections, basically stories within stories, so I don't recall any issues with reading them in either order.
Finished Drawing of the Three, borrowed Waste Lands. After having met Susannah, I'm really dreading that one scene in the next book.
How did you like the book otherwise? I remember growing to quite like Eddie as a character.
I think you have a good notion (suspicion?) of roughly what's involved in the part I dislike, yes.
It's funny. Both with Gunslinger and Drawing of the Three, I went in expecting not to like them. I have two friends that are fans of King, and neither of them have recommened them. And I'm not much of a horror reader, so King isn't someone I'd usually read. I fully expected to put them down after a couple of pages. But instead, I consumed them in just a couple of days. Taking a bit more of a break before Waste Lands because I want to finish the Hobbit first, but now I fully expect to make it to the end.
Drawing doesn't let up, though. It's kind of like, modern/western LOTR if Aragorn was nursing infected wounds, and the writer knew exactly how to get the reader to feel that specific pain. It was thrilling, but Gunslinger was relaxing in its simplicity.
Re the scene, I mean, I've heard. It's one of those shocking scenes that you kinda absorb via osmosis. I'm just going to assume it's bad, it's handled poorly, and hopefully the story moves the fuck on.
Just finished "Qualityland: Visit Tomorrow, Today!" by Marc-Uwe Kling and now into "Qualityland v2.0" (not sure if already available in English yet). I highly recommend that. A very fresh, unique and funny story about the future and how things are about to go (probably).
Been reading tons and tons of translated Chinese and Korean light novels for the past few years now, mostly in the wuxia and xianxia genres. I could ramble on about these for paragraphs, but if you have any interest I would actually just recommend googling the terms and reading up on them; you'll find much better explanations that way than I can give directly off the cuff.
What I really like about these, besides the fact that they're very fresh genres compared to the types of fiction that I've read for decades in my native English, is the storylines and references that go deep into Asian history, mythology, culture, religion, etc. It's a fascinating way to learn about so many things a typical American would never come into contact with, and the writing styles are so different than what I've read most of my life. Because of that, it was honestly kind of rough to get into the first one I read years ago, but I'm so happy I stuck with it.
Out of all of the ones that you are reading or had read, which one or ones would you consider your favorite? Or the ones that you would recommend to others that are new to them?
That's... kinda tough. Especially without vomiting out a crazy wall of text, but I can certainly try to give a few highlights without doing so.
For the Xianxia genre (think martial arts, fantasy, magic, Taoism, etc.), my go-to is to recommend the author Er Gen. I'm terribly biased, as the first Chinese light novel I ever read was I Shall Seal the Heavens (ISSTH) from him. It's a highly enjoyable book, and seems to be his most popular all around (with A Will Eternal probably being a close second), and really seems to be a solid representation of a lot of the tropes you find in a majority of the cultivation-style novels ('cultivation' meaning cultivation of the dao; it's hard to explain without going crazy detailed, but you'll understand once you read any of these types of books).
ISSTH was also translated by my hands-down favorite translator, Deathblade. That's one of the things about these novels, it can be brilliantly written in its native language, but it's just as important to have a translator who really has the skill and tenacity to ensure that not only the words come over correctly, but also the deeper meanings and enjoyability.
That all said, Er Gen's newest book (Beyond the Timescale) is currently being translated by Deathblade again, and it may be my new go-to recommendation for people. The pacing is fantastic, it's very dark and funny at the same time, and it just seems so much more accessible, probably because the author has had so much more time and practice to really dial in his art by this point.
By the way, you can find most of Er Gen's books and several of Deathblade's translations on the site (and app) that I started with and currently use, Wuxiaworld. There's also a ton of other great ones on there obviously, and I would recommend sorting by popularity and then checking out the synopsis of each to see if any sound interesting to you. Also, I'm just a casual reader and not a shill, so this is purely a personal recommendation, haha.
Another go-to recommendation is for the first Korean translation I started reading called Overgeared, which is actually still in the process of being written/translated (also on Wuxiaworld). Like the Chinese equivalents, it really does open you up to a ton of aspects of another culture you wouldn't normally come across otherwise. The book itself is an excellent example of character development too, especially the MC, as he starts out as a pretty terrible and hateful person, but with a very well thought-out and natural-feeling progression over time. And more importantly, to me at least, is that the author is one of the few people I've ever read who have an amazing ability to write fairly well most of the time, and then without warning, hit you with one or two sentences that are just absolutely so beautifully-constructed and impactful that you have to put the book down and just enjoy it for a little while. I know it may sound silly or over exaggerated to those who don't know what I'm talking about, but they're in there, and more than just a couple of times too.
Two more that I'll specifically mention are Supreme Magus and The Beginning After the End. They're a little different, as they are written by English native speakers in English, but they fall into the same genres, and both are fantastic. And both are still currently being written/released and are not completed.
Supreme Magus is one of the most well thought-out, complex, and well-written when it comes to characters, plot, the world and it's systems, etc. It's also by far one of the most enjoyable and humorous to read, even when it gets super dark sometimes. Fantastic development of the MC and other characters as well.
The Beginning After the End is also really good, although slightly less so in the latter chapters. That might just be me though, and it still has a huge following. The only issue I have that I can really verbalize is that when the author writes chapters from a couple of the female perspectives, I think they go a bit overboard to the point where it feels a little bit cringe. But again, that's just a personal feeling.
This has already gone just as long as I thought it would, haha, so here's just a list of ones that I enjoyed personally and think others would as well (in no particular order):
There are so many other fantastic ones out there, too many to keep track of (even the ones that I've truly loved over the years), so please pardon me for leaving out countless good recommendations.
***I will put two big disclaimers here:
Hope that helps, and hopefully you and anyone else will find some enjoyment in these!
No worries. The explanation that you had gave was in depth for me who is not familiar with the genre in the first place. I will try out the ones you had recommended.
No worries there, because I read the final chapter of Bleach (the manga) after reading all of it. And oh boy that was a disappointing ending to what was considered to be Shonen Jumps top three series when it was out. So there can't be a ending that is more disappointing than Bleach's.
In that case: awesome sauce, glad it could be of help! If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask; I'm always happy to talk about a passion, I just didn't want to go over the top with an unbearably long reply.
Ah, sorry to hear about the disappointing ending with Bleach. It's not a franchise I ever got into, and it's less likely I will ever do so now knowing that it ended poorly (just not really into shonen in general, same old morals and tropes done to death). It's kind of crazy tho isn't it, how a franchise can be so well done over so many years, and then they completely dropped the ball on the ending? I'm not saying it's easy to give everybody what they want after such a complex storyline and crew of characters has been written for years, but you literally have a team of people thinking about how they want to wrap up for so long, it's staggering how few books/shows/anything else screw it up.
Just finished John Romero's "DOOM Guy" autobiography. Before that was Jordan Mechner's "Karateka Diaries", and now I'm onto his Prince of Persia Diaries. And Make Something Wonderful the free book from the Steve Jobs Archive.
I’m currently reading The Hobbit and Jade City. I also have on my list, the Tombs of Atuan the second earthsea book, Sojourn the third Drizzt book, and then my friends and I are doing a book club and we are reading Salvatore’s Cleric Quintet for that.
Just finished listening to The Interdependency trilogy by John Scalzi. Been a fan of Scalzi for awhile, but haven't ever read this series. Thought it was really good. Wil Wheaton did the narration and he was okay. Not a huge fan of his Audible work.
A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon. I'm on page 600-something so I'm going to be done with it soon! It's a lovely
littlegiant book, highly recommend it for fans of fantasy, feminism, and queerness!Reading Cage of Souls by Adrian Tchaikovsky right now. I lived children of time, and then children of memory, but I'm not ready for the labor of getting through the third one just yet.
In the past, I enjoyed the Silo series by hugh howey as well. Great story
I'm finishing up the last installment of Tchaikovsky's Final Architecture series. Although I'm really enjoying it, I preferred the Children series.
Children of Memory is different than the other two. It's a lot warmer and more emotional that the others, that take more the cold science approach. Definitely worth a read!
I just finished Children of Memory by Adrian Tchaikovsky. I loved the first book in the series, enjoyed the second one, and this one was... okay. More enjoyable in some parts than others, but I felt like it could've shaved off at least a third of the length and not actually lost anything. I do enjoy the world building and the characters, though. Also the narrator for the audiobooks is amazing.
With that done, I just started Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, which had been on my list for a while. Only about half an hour into that audiobook, but enjoying it so far and the narrator is making it even better.
I don't make enough time to sit down and read a physical book as I should, but one of these days I'll get back to reading Crooked Kingdom because I do really enjoy Leigh Bardugo and the Grishaverse world.
Double or Nothing by Kim Sherwood. It's the 2nd most recent "James Bond" novel coming out late 2022 (the most recent being On His Majesty's Secret Service released during King Charles coronation this year which is next on my to read list).
I put James Bond in quotes because it's a novel set in the James Bond universe but doesn't actually involve Bond (he's present in flashbacks) but instead involves 003, 004 and 009. The novel involves the agents investigating a Private Military Corporation with shady links to a British billionaire industrialist who's promising to stop the climate crisis.
It's alright so far, I'm about halfway through. I think it got a bit of push back from huge Bond fans at the time for being "woke" but I don't really care about that, it's a Bond novel set in the modern day, god forbid one of the 00 agents is black and gay. My issue is with the dialogue, it's a little stilted at times and Bond himself, when he's in flashbacks, is a completely different character than he's normally portrayed in the books or films which is odd when Sherwood ties in a ton of the previous novels referencing characters, villains and missions.
I am enjoying the plot so far though and the 00 agents themselves are cool and interesting. The hardcover I've got is beautiful with the slipcover off as well.
I recently finished Walkaway, by Cory Doctorow I've been on a climate change sci-fi kick (Ministry for the Future; The Water Knife; A Half-Built Garden; Termination Shock) and this was an impressive and unique take on things. It is utopian rather than dystopian, although it takes a while to get there. As described in the NPR review linked above "[I]t is the story of precisely this — what comes after the slow-burn apocalypse we all secretly fear is coming, how it will work, how it will all go wrong and how it will get made right again with drones, wet printers and elbow grease."
I was quite surprised to find out how long Doctorow has been around and writing without having come across him before. I've since started following his blog, podcast and am looking forward to his soon to be released non-fiction novel The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation.
Let me recommend The Great Transition by Nick Fuller Googins! It's also climate change utopian -- not so much sci fi, but there are some elements in there simply by nature of being set in the future.
Recently finished Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune and Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach and thoroughly enjoyed both.
I don't often go for books with a strong focus on love/relationships, but so far Klune's books have charmed the hell out of me and Whisper Door was no exception. Lots of (mostly) happy tears.
Stiff has been on my want-to-read list for ages. Roach took a grim topic and made it interesting and funny (but never disrespectful-quite the opposite). The honest, blunt descriptions might make it difficult for the squeamish, but I found it informative and thought provoking. My copy is newer and I appreciate the epilogue she added in 2021.
I just started The Mothman Prophecies by John Keel. Mothman is an ongoing joke in my friend group and I feel compelled to read it.
I finished The Book That Wouldn't Burn by Mark Lawrence. What a good story. Imaginative world, strong anti-war message, tightly written plot and a sense of humor.
I just read The Fourth Wing which was enjoyable if not unpredictable and I appreciated its disability representation.
I'm rereading the Ancillary trilogy by Arkady Martine as the most recent book made me want to go back and refresh myself on the Presger and their relationship to other aliens and the Radch as a whole.
The Newest October Daye book came out today so it's next!