What are you reading these days?

I've somehow fallen into a weird genre of sci-fi that I'm really liking that I'd call... bureaucratic horror? administrative eldritch? Some of it is SCP adjacent, some eldritchy. The three that come to mind are:

A month ago was There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm. It's about a governmental organization tasked with understanding and maintaining antimemetic species, creatures whose defense mechanism is that people can't remember them, that they don't stick in memory.

Then came the Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley, in which the UK gets its hand on time travel and does boring stuff with it. This one was recommended on Obama's 2024 summer reading list.

This week it's Lexicon by Max Barry. It's about Poets, really persuasive people that control people with words, and how they control the world.

I recommend all three books, but I'm super easy to impress.

I'm coming up on the end of Lexicon, so if anyone's got a recommendation in the same subsubgenre, lemme know. Bonus points if it's a series, and the longer the better. I feel like getting immersed.

I just started reading the Cradle series by Will Wight and I have a problem with how much they are taking over my life…

Luckily I was traveling so I read most of the first two books on the plane there, and then read books 3 and 4 on the way back. I’m struggling to put the books down now that I’m back home.

My excuse is I’m on the one month trial of Kindle Unlimited from reading the latest “Beware of Chicken” book…but also if I manage to finish the series before my month of Kindle Unlimited ends I think that is a dangerous neglect of the rest of my life in favor of just reading. I have a problem with putting books down.

I read Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco, which is a sort of postmodern conspiracy novel about a group of editors who, for a lark, invent a world-spanning conspiracy that seems to leak into reality in frightening and dangerous ways.

In theory, this should have been my favorite novel ever written -- just the premise alone instantly captivated me, to say nothing of the fantastic prose, compelling characters, a prescient and nuanced thematic framework that somehow managed to speak directly to our current historical moment -- of LLMs and ascendant, disorderly authoritarianism -- despite being published in the eighties; not to mention a rich and instructive conversation with its own historical context; not to mention its delightfully convoluted central conspiracy.

So everything about the novel was great, except one element that made me actually, genuinely dislike it: the pacing. This novel is the size of a birthday cake, my copy was six hundred and fifty pages long; I genuinely believe it would have benefited from cutting like half of that. Almost the entire first half of the novel is dedicated to introducing characters and themes with LITERALLY no plot whatsoever; even when we finally do get some motion, the story mostly feels directionless and unmotivated because our perspective character is almost entirely reactive. And huge amounts of page space are dedicated to historical or esoteric figures and events that could have been done justice with only a passing mention. Foucault's Pendulum might, for you, be like your favorite book of all time -- all the pieces are there for something absolutely extraordinary, but they're just placed too far apart from each other, and so finishing it was, for me, an absolute slog. I am now looking forward to reading absolutely anything else.

Something about me: I don't read a whole lot. I used to read a good amount, when I was a kid in primary and middle school with no friends and nothing else to do during breaks except go to the school library, but at some point, I stopped. I'm not sure if it's when I started having positive social interactions, when I got a phone or just when my ADHD began to worsen, but ever since, I've barely read any books and finished even less, save for comics (mostly manga, which I do read a ton of at least) and technical books. It's not an uncommon story but it does suck.

As of late, though, I've started to manage my attention span somewhat better. Enough that, despite being someone who starts a thousand projects and never finishes them, I've managed to make actual, tangible, promising progress on my latest game dev project. And because of that, I thought I should do research on my game's theme, mind upload, by reading stories related to it.

I... did not actually do that. The books I found were too long and intimidating. BUT. On the opposite shelf to the Greg Egan books I was looking at, there was a collection of short stories (Les Voltigeurs de Gy; I'm sorry, I have no idea what the original title is but I think this specific collection is French only anyway) by Ursula Le Guin, a name I recognized from hearing about her online... so I picked it up. And I actually finished it! Sure, it was over two reading sessions separated by a week or two, but I read a whole book, which hadn't happened in multiple years! Hurray! It may seem silly, but I'm proud of myself!

I really enjoyed Le Guin's writing there; the anthropological and ethnological focus of her worldbuilding appeals to me a lot, among many things I'm struggling to describe. It made me want to read more of her work. Hence, the reason I'm coming into this thread today is that I borrowed Rocannon's World to try continuing, since its length seems approachable, and I hope it goes well for me. I'd like to be able to read long books again. I have other major interests now, so I doubt I'll ever be as much of a reader as I was as a kid, but books are important. Wish me luck!

While reading Rendezvous with Rama, it was clear I was not done with Arthur C. Clarke. So I ordered and read Childhood's End (1953).

While Rama is a "mysterious object" story, Childhood's End has a much broader scope.

"Childhood's End" has many protagonists that replace each other like in a relay race. Important characters are present throughout the book, assisting in its continuity, but none of them are humans. The persistent bit is the evolutionary process, how humankind evolves culturally and as a society. In a way, it is as if humankind were the real identity behind the actions, while the characters are little more than extensions -- the moving limbs and digits of a central intelligence. I know many complain about these Golden Age science fiction characters that feel more like plot devices than people, but what can I say? I like them, and I think they make sense in that book even more than in "Rendezvous with Rama".

That is not to say that they are not developed with interesting quirks and unique personalities. They most certainly are, but not to the extent that fans of other genres might expect.

I keep thinking that this book works far better than it should because it tells, essentially, three different stories that have no business being that cohesive.

That was a highly enjoyable read. Clarke is a master of mystery, and the pace with which he dispenses information sustained my curiosity while rewarding it in real ways at regular intervals. Except for some things even the characters cannot fathom, when the time comes, Clarke is not afraid to explain even the most bewildering elements in the most clear and straightforward way. That is very satisfying.

The ending, while grand, failed to impress me. I don't believe that was a failure of the book, but rather a consequence of reading it 73 years after its release. Many elements of the ending are probably not nearly as impactful as they were in 1953. As a reader in 2026, I kinda expected the speculation to go a bit further, going deeper into the realm of cosmic horror. It is entirely possible that elements of this book became part of our general science fiction culture, mitigating its impact. This is not really a criticism of the book, but rather a commentary on how genre fiction evolves with time.

★★★★☆

I'll probably read Arthur C. Clarke's The City and the Stars next!

I just caught up on the Dungeon Crawler Carl series. Over the last couple of weeks I breezed through the entire series and it's been so much fun! Really looking forward to the next entry in May.

After DCC I was ready for a change of pace and opted for The Killing Star by Charles R. Pellegrino and George Zebrowski. It's speculative fiction that starts similarly to DCC where first contact proves to be devastating to humans. Sober in tone and an intriguing thought piece on what would actually happen in such an event.

Then I finally went back and finished King of Ashes by S.A. Crosby. In the end, I found it an enjoyable, fairly quick read, but probably not something I would revisit. I suppose my interests right now are more focused on sci-fi and some non-fiction. Eventually I'd like to check out All the Sinners Bleed or some of his other works, but I won't be rushing to them.

I'm now juggling two books, the first of which I'm halfway through; Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. It's been ages since I've read a book in preparation for the film adaptation coming out. It's also my first Weir novel and I can see why he's so popular. The writing is snappy and entertaining. The Martian and Artemis seem like great future reads based on my taste right now.

The other book I started up is Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future by Dan Wang. This one came as a recommendation from a friend currently working through it. The subject is of immense interest examining China's technological and geopolitical rise while comparing it against America's current, more lawyerly, state.

I'm reading the Lion Women of Tehran

I'm reading the Eye of the Bedlam Bride from the Dungeon Crawler Carl series.

I'm about to start the Truth by Terry Pratchett for Tildes book club.

I'm about to start Every Tongue Got to Confess, a collection of folk tales collected by Zorah Hurston in the Gulf States. (These include some of the same stories that inspired Uncle Remus and Song Of The South. I'm looking forward to reading a version collected by an African American. Hurston is also a gifted author)

I read the Witches of Thistle Grove series, and those started so strong and just became unhinged by the end. Then for my book club we read The Place Where They Buried Your Heart by Christina Henry, and it was good; the ending was a tiny bit rushed, but it was a good book overall. The next book for my book club is This Is How You Lose the Time War, and I'm excited about it, and then I have The Reformatory to read for myself. Lots of books going on. I actually have several books checked out right now, but I generally only read one at a time.

Finished Simone de Beaviour's 'The Woman Destroyed' Published 1967. This book consists of 3 novellas each from the perspective on a woman in a different part of their lives. These are very much not happy women, they have been wronged and or neglected by their families and partners, this book is very miserable. The first novella really grabbed me, portraying a sort of 'Sadness' the second story was more a 'Bitterness' that I didn't really like and the third was something like 'Weakness' that was pretty good. Recommended.

Then I started into Anatole France's 'Penguin Island' Published 1908. Previously I have read 'The Gods Will Have Blood' by France and really loved it, amazing prose writer. This book has a very strange premise....

"After a nearsighted monk, Abbot Maël, accidentally baptizes a colony of penguins, God turns them into humans, leading to a society defined by greed, violence, and bureaucratic absurdity"

It's a satire on human history and French history and it is really awful. Reads like a sci-fi/fantasy book (and not a good one) I couldn't even make it 100 pages and I almost never give up on a book. There are much better examples of this alternate history thing in the world of sci-fi/fantasy that is much better done. One that I remember enjoying is Kim Stanley Robinson's 'The Years of Rice and Salt'.

Now I'm reading Mikhail Bulgakov's 'Heart of a Dog' Published in 1968, written in 1925. Short little satire on Bolshevism, very enjoyable so far! Probably finish it in a couple more days, another book with a very strange premise:

"In post-revolutionary Moscow, a celebrated surgeon rescues a stray dog from the streets and performs a radical experiment: transplanting human organs into the animal in the hope of advancing science. The procedure works—but not as intended. The dog begins to transform into a man, and with the change comes not enlightenment but vulgarity, aggression, and a taste for petty power."

Oddly similar to France's book except this one is very short and well executed and pretty funny. It knows what it is and doesn't take itself too seriously. I've read 'The Master and Margarita' previously and while I mostly enjoyed it I thought a lot of it went over my head, there are lots of references to Soviet life that I definitely missed and or did not understand to properly 'get' that book.

I just started the audiobook of All The Presidents Men narrated by Richard Poe. Poe also did Blood Meridian and may be the best narrator for serious books.

Before this was The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which was great — and I like the structure more than the film.

Hubert Dreyfus did an interesting series breaking down Moby Dick — I need to find who mentioned it, but it was someone here /u/plutonic mentioned it. I love this book and thought i understood it, but there’s so much more to it. I ripped this to an m4a, renamed to an m4b and listened like normal.

Before these two I read Walter Mosely’s Devil in a Blue Dress because I had it for some reason. very run-of-the-mill historical crime story. i think some of the money was off, but it wasn’t the worst. i won’t continue with the series, however.

After All the Presidents Men i think i’ll hit up Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. it’s fun to revisit these kids books as an adult.

If We Were Villains I thought was semi-interesting for the first third of it and then it loses its steam. The characters are one dimensional and it does this weird thing where it’ll just quote a lot of Shakespeare. It was very YA, and there was a moment where I realized that lots of people I text with text in a similar way because they read a lot of this stuff.

American Dirt was super controversial six years ago because a white woman wrote it. I think there’s a good story here even if the bits and pieces of Spanish language makes me cringe. Should a white woman handle these types of stories? Sure. I think people get too uppity about depictions of the Mexicans cartel because it apparently makes us look bad.

Violin is the first book from Anne Rice that I’ve read. And because in the lead up to this I read two page turners back to back, it reminded me what good prose looks like. I love the poetic way in which she writes. And I find her a fascinating author since she popularized those types of monster love stories that is basically still propping up the book industry.

Work has taken up a lot of my energy the past few weeks, but I've finally gotten started in László Krasznahorkai's Satantango.

Just finished the audiobook for Paradise Lost, by Milton. I picked it up as part of my "classic books to listen to while I shower series", inspired by the previous book Frankenstein where the monster mentions having read it.

As a quick overview, it's a retelling of the biblical story of Adam and Eve being tempted by Satan to eat the tree of knowledge, and thus being kicked out of Eden. The author greatly expands the myth, taking many creative liberties to expand the "world" of Christianity with new important characters and events, so the story covers everything from Satan's original rebellion and fall, the creation of earth, the Eden incident, and even has a cute little "flashforward" sequence showing some other biblical events to come.

The story, despite being a nearly heretical amount of made-up, obviously has very Christian roots, and the constant theme of "God is #1" is omnipresent, and not subtle at all. It still does a decent job of creatively analyzing some of those ideas, if not intended by the Author at least for a modern reader; Satan is legitimately sympathetic at several points (balanced of course by the occasional "but remember he is actually super evil"). The story of Adam and Eve and the fall is also interesting; I enjoy that in this telling, Adam doesn't get "tricked" into eating the fruit, but rather makes the conscious decision that he loves Eve so much he'd rather die with her than live without, very bittersweet and human motivation. (This is more or less immediately undermined in following chapters, but alas).

Obviously, a book being written in the 17th century is going to be a product of its time. But even through that lens, a lot of the Eve descriptions were tough. She's described as heavenly beautiful, but more importantly as servile and obedient at all times to Adam. Her sin is not even framed as eating the apple, it's not listening to Adam when he wanted to stick together. And this isn't a one-time event; it is drilled in repeatedly that Eves best purpose is to be obedient and serve Adam, and she is super thrilled to do that every time it gets brought up. I feel like there is a more interesting characterization to be made for Eve (and given the age and renown of this work I'm sure several authors have made their own take), but it was the only real cringe moments of the book.

Overall enjoyed the book, it had some proper hype moments and cool language, and it was cool to see a classic mythologization of Christianity. I even made this niche meme inspired by one of the events. https://imgflip.com/i/ajdp3e

Continuing to read the Vorkosigan saga.

“Brothers In Arms” is the current read.

This is the first one in the reading order I’m following:

The best reading order is by omnibus, I think, which does a good job of matching chronological and publication order:

Cordelia's Honour (Shards of Honour, 'Aftermaths', Barrayar)

Young Miles (The Warrior's Apprentice, 'The Mountains of Mourning', The Vor Game)

Miles, Mystery and Mayhem (Cetaganda, Ethan of Athos, 'Labyrinth')

Miles Errant ('Borders of Infinity', Brothers in Arms, Mirror Dance)

Memory (not part of an omnibus)

Miles in Love (Komarr, A Civil Campaign, 'Winterfair Gifts')

Miles, Mutants and Microbes (Falling Free, 'Labyrinth', Diplomatic Immunity)

Captain Vorpatril's Alliance (not yet part of an omnibus)

Cryoburn (not yet part of an omnibus)
Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen (not yet part of any omnibus)

Where I’ve not really connected with the story. Easily my least favourite so far.

Still salty this was sold to me as a mil series when it is in fact full fat space opera. Never mind, I’ll find another great mil series at some point I’m sure.

I’m mercifully near the end of Brothers In Arms, so it’s got that going for it at least. Next up will be Mirror Dance

Listening, rather than reading, but I just finished book 8, of 9, of Lucky's Marines by Joshua James. It came across some feed of mine described as:

A high octane space action in the vein of Starship Troopers and Firefly

The author describes it as:

Gritty. Fast-Paced. Addictive. You'll love this high-octane military sci-fi because it's the love child of "Starship Troopers" and "Jason Bourne."

I like all those things, so I decided to give it a try.

In the beginning (Book 1), it had a few moments that left me confused about what was happening, and/or feeling like the book was more "Young adult" than "Adult science fiction". But I enjoyed it, and would rate that first book at 7/10.

Books 2-4 bit into me more, I understood more and enjoyed them more, 8/10.

Books 5-8 really "took off" for me plot wise, leaving me excited to start the next book, 8.5/10.

Looking forward to starting book 9 later this week, and wrapping the series up.

The books are shorter than most of my others, the audiobooks come in at an average of 6 hours per book, so fairly easy reads. And it's almost entirely action-packed. There is enough dialogue for character and plot development, but the majority of the books are "things happening" more than "people talking".

I just finished reading the sheltering sky by Paul bowles and I am torn on how I feel about this book. The prose and all that was really good but the characters and parts of the story was just not really my jam. Its a good book I guess but every time I searched for reviews people were gushing over how amazing it is. I dunno man. Iv never really been so 50/50 about a book before.

Currently reading left hand of darkness by le guin and I feel no peace which is about the rohingya genocide. It does not hold back and is a harrowing read so far. Not a pre bedtime book.

I finished Satanstango from László Krasznahorkai. /u/plutonic wrote a scathing review about this book, which prompted me to read it. And I just saw /u/pxl is also picking it up!

Thanks Plutonic, I thoroughly enjoyed my read through but I can totally, absolutely relate to your feelings of disgust with the ending.

I was discouraged by the amount of names and unexplained concepts in the beginning of Hyperion. I understand that is a writing technique, but I am worried by the amount of obscurity I may routinely face in that book. I assume that the goal is to increase immersion, but I cannot help feeling extremely anxious and insecure as a reader.

If that only happens in the beginning, I'm okay with it. But I don't have the mental capacity for a book that keeps doing that. If something is name-dropped and only explained after 200 pages, the odds of me remembering when that one tiny detail was introduced are slim. Fans of that book: does this get better?

So I really, really tried to read Peter F. Hamilton's Pandora's Star, after seeing a recommendation elsewhere here. My feelings about Hamilton were pretty "meh" after the Greg Mandel books, but I was in the mood for big space opera.

I nope'd out of Pandora's Star at 93%. I won't spoiler it or go into why I found Hamilton's politics, plot, pacing, world-building, and characterizations so irritating, but there simply wasn't enough that I found original or positive to continue.

Okay one big spoiler: