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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.
I used to read quite a bit many years ago, but have since let other hobbies take over the majority of my time and I'd really like to get back to it. In that spirit, I've just ordered Brandon Sanderson's first Mistborn trilogy, mostly inspired by having played the deckbuilding game recently, as well as talk amongst my friends of trying out the upcoming Cosmere TTRPG. I'm excited to give them a start once they arrive tomorrow!
I also bought the Silo trilogy, having just finished season 2 of the TV show. As I understand it, the first 2 seasons covered book 1, but now there are only going to be 2 more seasons to cover the remaining 2 books so I figured I'd go to the source material and get the complete and unrushed experience (while also rushing to discover where the plot's headed). I've really been enjoying the show, so I hope the read experience is just as full of mystery and discovery.
I'm in a similar boat. Loved Mistborn and some of Sanderson's other work, but I kept putting off the Stromlight archive.
I finally pulled them off the shelf and read the first 4
What a coincidence, I've just today finished the Mistborn trilogy, my first experience with Brandon Sanderson. I'm not entirely sure how I feel yet. Good luck.
If you like the show Silo, you will almost undoubtedly love the books. At least the first one; I found there to be a bit of a pacing issue at times in the second/third books but that might also be the result of trying to speed run through three books before starting the series. I'll be interested in your experience of going show to book as I think there are things each has done well but definitely some plot diversions.
Currently reading: Daughter of No Worlds by Carissa Broadbent (print), Baptism of Fire by Andrzej Sapkowski (audio), and The Mirror by Nora Roberts (digital). I'm still greatly enjoying Carissa's writing style even though first person is generally difficult for me. Baptism of Fire was going to be the book where I decided if I wanted to keep reading the Witcher because I really struggled with the last couple books and the political passages, but this one is fine, so I guess I'll keep going. Just started The Mirror this morning.
Recently finished: Eldest by Christopher Paolini, Immortal by Sue Lynn Tan, An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon, and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis. And Imperium by Robert Harris, which was a great time and I was thoroughly surprised by how fun it was (historical fiction, Ancient Roman Empire). I had big negative feelings about Immortal, which seriously disappointed me in its writing style and plot elements/structure.
Up next: Ministry for the Future just arrived at the library for me yesterday! So I'll be getting into that as soon as I can (hurrying to finish Daughter of No Worlds). I have a few things lined up for audio, including Justice Hall by Laurie R King, Conspirata by Robert Harris, and Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros. Once it arrives, my partner and I will be listening to In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune, which is a Pinocchio retelling.
My regional library just announced that they are cutting digital material hold amounts from 20 to 10 items. I had already signed up for my city library so I foresee using them more, and/or some of my reading consumption habits might change depending on what is available to me. Not sure I'll be reading less, but maybe less popular fantasy if it gets harder to borrow.
FWIW if you want more loans on Libby, you can get an out of state library card from the Houston public library system for $40/y. I also have one at the Free Library of Philadelphia, which is free, but you have to live in Pennsylvania.
I will consider that, but maybe I'll wait a bit before jumping into a third library - this might be the poke I need to get through the mountain of physical books I own and haven't read!
Like this?
Just about ;) All the new books I've bought recently are for purposes of future rereads because I liked them a lot, or they're for future book clubs. I did manage to read one book that I've owned for many years for the first time... and now I need to eventually get to the next ones in its series.
Same here. I last finished a paper book a few years ago on a vacation where I had a lot of downtime. Almost all my reads these days are audiobooks. I've slowed my rate of buying paper books, at least, so I'm at less risk of being crushed by them.
The Dagger and the Coin is a fantasy series by Daniel Abraham, one of the co-authors of the Expanse books. Although in some ways fairly conventional fantasy, it's unusual in that one of the main characters is a banker, and there are some surprising plot twists having to do with banking. (Very old-school banking - they do a little of everything, including loans, investments, letters of credit, and smuggling treasure. This is in a fantasy world where paper money hasn't been invented yet.)
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin is a pretty good novel about young, talented, unfortunate game designers screwing up a lot. Lots of interpersonal drama.
News of the World by Paulette Jiles is the novel that the Tom Hanks movie is based on. It's set in post-Civil War Texas. It's about a old man, formerly a printer, who travels from town to town, entertaining people by reading stories from newspapers. He agrees to take a young girl back to her (distant) relatives. She was captured by an Indian tribe under horrible circumstances. She's entirely gone native and doesn't know any other language.
It seems a bit more realistic than the movie, which I also thought was good, but has some additional made-up episodes to add more action and make it more dramatic.
(A stylistic quirk is that the author doesn't believe in quotation marks, so you need to read a bit more carefully.)
And I've started reading The Captured: A True Story of Abduction by Indians on the Texas Frontier by Scott Zesch, which is a non-fiction book that the novel is partly based on.
I just finished Edgedancer (delightful interlude of a book) and now I’m about 200 pages into Oathbringer (Book 3 of Stormlight Archive) and I’m loving it. It’s definitely off to a slow start but the series has built enough good will with me to not mind it. It’s cool to see how Sanderson reconciles each main character’s past with their present in the previous books, and I’m eager to see that transformation play out with Dalinar because the Blackthorn really is a different person entirely. As usual I’m desperate for any worldbuilding revelations, and Sanderson masterfully drips lore; never too much to overwhelm, never too little to be bored, just enough to be hungry for more.
Currently reading ministry for the future. I'm not in tildes book club but figured I'd read it since I just finished aurora by KSR. Looking to move onto silo afterwards and maybe start something academic on the side.
Just because you "aren't a part" of Tildes Book Club doesn't mean you aren't welcome - encouraged even! - to join in the conversation at the end of the month.
I'll most likely pop in and chat about it ;)
Man I still think about the opening scene to this book regularly. Such a visceral description of climate impact.
Yea its really well done. I recently volunteered in Bosnia and they had a heatwave that was just brutally hot so I kept thinking of that while reading the opening
I responded to a few comments but neglected to comment on what I've been reading! I know, you were all waiting with bated breath.
I'm rapidly approaching the end of The Ministry of the Future for Tildes Book Club. I'm maybe on chapter 102 and despite enjoying it so far, I'm starting to feel some fatigue. I am, regardless, looking forward to the discussion.
With the month of December off of book club I took the time to catch up on a couple books that I had on my backburner. Mid-December I worked through Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino and man, my relationship with the book starting off was fraught. By halfway through however I was digging on it and I'm not sure I've ever had as much of a turnaround on feelings about a book. It's an odd coming-of-age-into-adulthood by a probably neurodivergent narrator. Not a challenging read but a read full of really great descriptions.
I also managed to squeeze in Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon. Holy cow, I loved everything about this book. It had been on my radar for years and I really regret not getting around to it sooner because it is really peak science fiction. It's the story of an older lady who stays behind on a planet after her company town is relocated and the freedom that comes with that. Oh, and there's aliens... or natives? It's a very good read and does that great scifi thing of holding a mirror up to society and the reader.
I loved Remnant Population. Such an interesting story and protagonist. I am surprised I had never heard about it until here on Tildes.
I got some of her other work, but it seems to be in more of a space opera vein.
I finished Ministry for the future for Tildes book club.
I finished the Spear cuts through water by Simon Jimenez. It's an epic fantasy that draws on mythic themes and uses a play within a dream as a frame narrative. It took me a while to get into it but it is excellent. I want to see a play made from this book.
I read Lost connections by Johan Hari about non drug treatments for depression and anxiety that are supported by research.
I am currently reading Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead, a coming of age story.
I am reading a short history of the world in 50 lies. It focused on how cons, fakes, frauds have influenced history.
I am reading the blood Tartan by Raymond st Elmo. It's a light witty fantasy so far.
I am constantly astounded by how much you, and other readers like you, read. That's like seven months of reading for me and I read every day.
I'm semi disabled and I prefer reading to television.
But yeah, reading has been my thing since I was very young.
I am reading The Talented Mr. Ripley after watching the Netflix series when it came out. I had also seen the film years ago and the one thing I really like about the book that the series touched on, and the movie seemed to avoid entirely, is how queer coded and asexual Tom Ripley actually is. Its been a quick read so far and I'm almost half way through but its overall a good book!
I find I am reading a lot of things I have seen the adaptations of - before Ripley I have read Dune and man that book is quite different than the films.
his queer coded / asexuality is all through the other four books in the Ripliad -- definitely worth a read. I've gone through it two or three times now and will likely reread it every few years. They're really fun books.
That's good to hear! I am really enjoying the first book and how it compares to the show (which was also really good and what made me want to read the books in the first place).
you might as well watch all of the movies, too. Purple Noon is pretty good. The others are not great, but Ripley’s Game with Malkovich is decent enough. Same with Barry Pepper in Ripley Underground. The American Friend gets a lot of love, but i thought it was terrible. Highsmith even liked it, i believe.
I’m hoping we can get all of the books made with Andrew Scott and this aesthetic.
I joined a book club recently and just finished Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano. I mostly stick to non-fiction and pop-sci style stuff, and it was really nice dipping my toes into lit fiction.
I loved the prose and vivid metaphors in this book. I'll give a few examples
Since it's a slice of life book, I'm redacting names to avoid spoilers, and putting anything that could be plot spoilery in an expandable section
Possibly spoilery stuff
I've been reading Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality. I'm about 65% of the way through it and I'm somewhat struggling. It started off pretty strong but the last couple storylines have been kind of a slog and since it's so long I don't know if it will get any better.
I read through that several years ago and remember it petering out a bit around that point as well. It was an interesting read and the end of it was pretty good. I think around the point you're at I took a break and read another shorter book before coming back to finish it, which helped me not feel so bogged down.
I'd be curious to see what your thoughts are on it when/if you finish.
This is what I needed to hear. Thanks
I’m continuing my progress on Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time series. I’m just shy of halfway through book 3, The Dragon Reborn. Still enjoying the series greatly, though as our little one gets older and more active, I’m not burning through it like I did with books 1 and 2.
On the non-fiction side, I’m juggling a few books at the moment. Seneca’s Letters from a Stoic when I have the patience for it (it’s a generally good read, but it edges a lot closer to “man yelling at clouds” than his other well-known series of letters, On the Shortness of Life, which I greatly enjoyed). When I run out of patience for that, I switch to Carl Sagan’s The Demon-Haunted World. There’s something very satisfying about reading Sagan’s intentional and thoughtful dismantling of pseudoscientific concepts in a well-measured, almost congenial tone.
I’m also working through Oliver Burkeman’s Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals on audiobook, narrated by the author. He has a really pleasant voice and it’s a great mental reset and reality check, especially when I spend probably too much of my time trying to min-max my productivity :)
I wish I could be reading WoT for the first time again. It's still good to reread, but not quite the same.
I've been reading The Tyranny of Merit: What's Become of the Common Good? by Michael Sandel.
It's an interesting read and especially relevant now. There were many things about the effects of meritocracy that I didn't consider before reading this.
I just started From Staircase to Stage: The Story of Raekwon and the Wu-Tang Clan by Raekwon --- good book if you're a fan.
My main read has been Julio Cortazar's "Blow Up," a collection of his short stories, and I plan to follow up with another collection of his titled "All Fires The Fire."
I've also discovered P.G. Wodehouse, and his line of stories concerning The Imitable Jeeves.
I am listening to the second Tiffany Aching book of Pratchetts Discworld series, A hat full of sky.
I have been holding of reading this part of the series as i had got some kind of understanding that they where kid/young adult books and didnt think they would be that funny.
But both this and the first Aching book have been really good and the pictsies are awesome.
Seems to me that they are still top notch Pratchett works.
In between those books I read The chip wars, which was cool if you are interested in the semiconductor industry. Interesting stuff but the book felt much longer themn it was, and seems to me a bit over dramatic in some sections. Still a lot of cool history and seemingly realistic insight of the current state of the business and politics surrounding it.
Aching is what more YA books should be . Don't get me wrong, I understand why some YA books are the way they are, and not everything needs to be perfectly written, but yeah just like the majority of Pratchett the only thing that really makes it "YA" is the main characters age. There's not sacrificing on quality or concepts.
I recently finished Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Nietzsche and am most of the way through "The Tales of Pirx the Pilot* by Stanisław Lem, continuing my journey to read every book by him. Definitely a bit of whiplash after finishing Zarathustra, I wish I had better familiarity withthe time period it was written in and influences of the book because i was lost, especially towards the end and things only started to make sense when i double backed with supporting documentation online. I don't typically like to read that way so it was an interesting experience. Next up: Finnigan's Wake but like... the online version that breaks down every sentence
I'm finally reading Bad Monkey by Carl Hiaasen. I've always heard good things, but I would always mix it up with another favorite of mine (Bad Monkeys by Matt Ruff; don't @ me). I'm glad its Apple adaptation convinced me to give it a shot though - it's a great read so far!
I’m starting to read The Plague by Albert Camus (the English translation by Laura Morris). I was inspired to get the book after rewatching this YouTube video (just be aware that it has sad vibes) in November due to some things happening at the time that reminded me of those themes.
While at the bookstore I also got The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. LeGuin. I read the Left Hand of Darkness earlier and enjoyed it, though I'm basically going into this one blind.
I just started Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler. No opinions just yet, because I'm still trying to get myself into the world.
I recently read The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard. I really enjoyed it and its take on time travel. I've found myself thinking about the book ever since I finished it.
I'm rereading The Lord of the Rings at the moment, it's my go-to book when I'm feeling anxious about the world and need a comfort story. Incidentally, I think this is the fourth time I've read it in the past 2 years, which is telling.
I’m finishing Assassin’s Apprentice which apparently has many sequels and I’m excited about that. Have enjoyed it so far! Slow burn but very enriching prose.
I'm currently reading Slaughterhouse Five. Never knew much about the book and had only heard of the name and opening line, but grabbed it as I knew it to be a classic and one that I keep my attention on.
I'm nearing the end of it and I can only but commend the writing style and narration. The humorous remarks interlaced through such a traumatic story are a difficult feat to pull off.
I've been reading Means of Control by Byron Tau. It's the culmination of his reporting work on how the government aquires an unfathomable amount of data from a range of sources, all of which isn't illegal but extremely secretive and morally grey, to conduct an astonishing amout of serveilance on people in the Middle East, in the United States, and anywhere else it wanted. It also shows how your phone might be collecting data for the U.S. government, the horrifying vulnerability of things like your Bluetooth headphones, and how your car can generate useful data for espionage. It's a really great book that will have you making a tinfoil hat two chapters in.
Finished up the Gentleman Bastard Sequence, and I have to say of all the "might never finish" series I've touched, it's by far the easiest to deal with that. Even ignoring my luck that it looks like we might finally get some novellas from the author, the fact that every story has a very self contained main plot, and just some amazing characters, made them easy to just burn through.
Bounced off a few other things that had wound up on my lists for various reason.
Hench/A Darker Shade of Magic/The Ninth Metal all failed to hold my interest so I backed out.
I have Alex Verus, The Innocent Mage , Bartimaeus, and An Ember in the Ashes as things I started, wasn't feeling, and might come back to.
So i'm back to Sanderson for the moment reading Wind and Truth which I'm barely into but have so far enjoyed, and listening to Elantris, which certainly shows a lot of rough edges compared to his later work, so I'm glad i'm audiobooking it in traffic.
As always his worldbuilding is fantastic, but in this case the pacing suffers heavily, as perfectly reasonable conversations drag on and on.
I have finished Spock's World, which was my first Star Trek novel. I have lots of conflicting sentiments about this book.
Dislikes:
Likes:
My rating: 6 out of 10. I enjoyed this book even if it wasn't what I wanted or expected. Even though there is not much Spock in it, there is a plethora of Vulcan characters, situations, and discussions that are very interesting and compelling. I recommend it to Star Trek fans who wish to learn more about Vulcan.