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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.
Going through Altered Carbon and its sequels after finishing Dungeon Crawler Carl 8
Carbon and half way through book 2 broken angels:
Book is better than the strangely inconsistent show. Book 2 is eh from a couple of angles. Main issue is that while not frequent there are some seriously overwritten sex scenes. I won’t go into my full rant and confusion here but Jesus I get it he fucks.
DCC8:
Think 7 and 8 are my favorites so far. Impressed with how effortlessly the author makes tying out plot points look
I hated that the Altered Carbon series completely omitted the politics of the book, which were serious and important commentaries on the "Team America - World Police" covert actions and military interventions to make the world safe for capitalism at the time it was written. The acting and dialogue (worse than the book's pseudo-noir) stank, too. And, yes, Richard Morgan's protagonists in all of his books are unstoppable sex machines, but his female characters are strong, smart, complicated, have agency, and get to say "no", too. Book 3, Woken Furies, pulls it all together.
I've finished book 2 and started book 3.
I love his world, and I love that no matter the views of the author, his characters still feel rational and well written. A LOT of evil is being done in the name of greed but it's reasonable in presenting why and how that can happen. For example Quell (so far) is a very real figure in history in that she's not just the perfect "oh woe unto the revolutionary who would've fixed it all" and people have very conflicting views on both her goals and means.
That said I've encountered a feeling in other books where I wonder "is this well written or do I just disagree with the author so much that they think this person is rational and I think they're a great example of a flawed person championing a good ideal?". It's not that strong in this series because I think it's very well written to feel real, but I was sorta conflicted about how I was supposed to feel vs how I did feel about the main female protagonist of book 2....especially some of her speeches.
Book 3 is slow so far although I can guess where things are heading. It feels..odd...since it just kinda drops you in and even more than Book 2 seems to be taking it's time establishing why Takeshi is involved in any of this. He's clearly got some agenda and there's a larger shoe I've been waiting to see drop that's obviously coming, but i'm very.....confused as to why he's involved in most of this right now.
Still so far it's rating quite highly on my personal list (especially compared to some other recent outings in the last year) so it's been nice to burn through something that's easy to enjoy.
Since the last time I posted, I was reading Inherent Vice by Pynchon. Just like the movie, that's one of my favourite books I've ever read. I don't know why I love hippie burnout private detective stories but man it really gets me. The film does a really, really good job at mimicking the vibe and feel of the book. I'll read it again in a few years probably.
I also started and finished Ham on Rye by Bukowski. I haven't read a full Bukowski novel before (but I've read a lot of short stories and poetry, which I really liked), and this was quite the read. I get the sense its semi-autobiographical and I walked away from the story thinking about how its a good primer on how someone becomes a reactionary, or even a fascist, due to their upbringing. I don't think that was the point he was trying to get across, specifically, but its how I read it. It was a quick read, I enjoyed the story, but man it was a tough one to think about.
Finally, I am reading The High Window by Raymond Chandler. I've read The Big Sleep and Farewell, My Lovely already so I figured the next one down is a way to go. I like hard boiled detective books what I can say. I just started the novel, he just got the job from the old lady, and he's met the son. Curious as to where this all goes.
I think after this I'll need to find something in the queer, sci-fi world. Open to any suggestions - particularly if its a mystery novel.
Loved Inherent Vice when I read it. My first Pynchon novel. I should revisit it soon, but want to finish rest of Pynchon's work first. If you want to check out more Pynchon The Crying of Lot 49 is a good place to go. Also have enjoyed all the Chandler I've read, High Window was my first. Haven't read Big Sleep or Farewell yet but really enjoyed The Long Goodbye. The movie adaptation of the same name by Robert Altman is very different from the novel, but it's just fantastic and is in a somewhat similar vein to Inherent Vice. Love Elliot Gould as Marlowe. It's probably my favorite "stoner noir" film.
I am definitely going to watch the Long Goodbye film. That sounds fantastic.
I'll also check out The Crying of Lot 49. Thanks for the recommendations!
movie-wise you might also like Under the Silver Lake if you haven't seen it already.
Added to the list - thank you!
got a list? I loved IV.
Currently building it - Inherent Vice is the only one of my list at the moment.
Nice! Ok cool. I’ll track some down, too. I really wish we had a novelization of The Big Lebowski.
Just starting book four of Dungeon Crawler Carl...and book three was quite a ride. It's great how the author manages to keep the formula fresh, and the puzzle aspect of that one was fun. I'm also liking how new layers are slowly being added to characters' backstories, like Donut or the conflict with the player killers.
I'm at the same point. Just finished DCC book 3 yesterday. It's been a fun journey so far. Overall I feel like the long descriptions affect the pacing, but I guess that's just part of the format. I also felt like book 3 was a little too Carl-centric, with most other characters giving off NPC energy, especially after the conflict with the other major party leader was resolved midway through. Any other parties that seem to have their own agency also seem to be presented as lone wolf type parties who don't collaborate with others. I guess I kind of just expected more issues with collaboration that weren't manufactured by the system, which I feel would be more realistic.
Due to an extremely busy time at work, I really need something to detach my brain when I get home.
I’m re-reading The Fellowship of the Ring, and I’ll see if I finish a re-read of the full series. This is my third time with The Lord of the Rings, and it’s great because it’s simultaneously so familiar and yet the writing is still brilliant.
I typically remember the series for its major plot points and story beats, but the writing comes together because of the piece-by-piece worldbuilding, which makes rereads very satisfying. I can pay more attention to the subtle details: the songs, the descriptions of each event, etc., which Tolkein handles excellently. I’m looking forward to it every day!
Fellowship of the Ring. I've never read LotR and I'm trying to fix that..again. I've tried to read these books dozens of times going back to the 00s when the movies came out.
But anyway, I'm enjoying it a lot. Them Hobbit boy just left the Old Forest outside Buckland and I really like how long its taken to get to this point. Both in terms of the time passage between events and the scale of how long it takes to get from point A to B. Not at all a knock against the films, but Bilbo's party, Gandalf's departure, return, Frodo' departure, and Frodo's arrival in Bree all seems to happen over the course of a few weeks at most. Whereas in the books Galdalf was off doing whatever he does for 17 YEARS! And just the halfway point to Bree has taken a couple of days with exciting adventure happening the entire way.
Again, not a knock on the films. There's no way that pacing would work in a movie (maybe not even a show), but it's welcomed in a book :)
I've also not read the LotR books, but my wife has. We're waiting for our son to get to the age where we're all reading to go through them. Kind of like saving myself for marriage, but reading a book with my kid when he's older.
Do you find the scale of time in the book takes a lot to internalize seeing as you've watched the films? Like does it feel like its too long because of your previous exposure to the story being so quick?
The time scale feels noticeably longer, but certainly not too long. It just makes sense. Like of course Gandalf didn't run off, confirm it was the ring, and return in a matter of days. And of course Frodo didn't make all those arrangements to move over night like he does in the movies. And then of course you get characters and scenes not present in the films at all that help fill that extra passage of time.
For example, in the books, the Hobbits encounter Elves shortly after their first run ins with the dark riders. It's a very early look at what the Elves are like. Whereas with the movies you don't get any elves until Rivendell!
I've finished book four of Dungeon Crawler Carl and am starting... Three books. Which will be interesting.
I'm starting Pachinko by Min Jin Lee as part of my work's book club. I've heard many great things about this book, so I'm very excited to get started on it.
Based on my brother's recommendation, I'm listening to the audiobook of The Chimp Paradox by Steve Peters. He read the physical book and said it has helped him immensely, and assisted him in overcoming dartitis, which he was shocked to discover is a real thing.
And finally, I am delving into Designing Data Intensive Applications by Martin Kleppmann in preparation for a systems design interview I have upcoming. I'm terrified as I've never done such an interview before, and honestly know very little about formal system design. This is stage four of the interview process, which has otherwise gone really well and I don't want to ruin it at this stage. I'm at chapter 6 now and have found the book incredibly insightful already.
I'm reading Rainbows End by Verner Vinge. It's much more grounded than his previous galactic adventures. It was written in the early 2000s about a potential future in 2025 which has made it fun to compare his guesses with reality. Wearable computing and augmented reality didn't quite take off so much, but his concept of Belief Circles seems to be getting closer to reality as so many people's world view is heavily filtered.
My only complaint so far is the story centers around a main character who just isn't likeable. I wouldn't want every story to be limited to charismatic heroes but if they have almost no redeeming qualities it's hard to care what happens to them. I'm still holding out some hope he changes by the end or that at least some profound insights are made to tie it all together.
Finished Charlotte Bronte's 'Jane Eyre' Published 1847. What a masterpiece. It amazes me after all these years of reading I can still come upon well known masterpieces that I have not read. The world of literature has so much to offer, an endless treasure chest of splendor. Anyways, what else can I say about this book that hasn't already been said? This isn't even the best of the Bronte sister's novels yet it's among the best of the best. Great story, great prose, great characters.
Started Patrick White's 'The Solid Mandala' Published 1966. A couple years ago I read my first Patrick White book by randomly selecting it off my shelf having no idea who he was or anything about his writing. It was 'Riders in the Chariot' and the prose was so amazing I was stunned, a really great book. Australia's only winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature. While at the used bookstore a couple weeks ago they had a few of his books so I bought them all. 'The Solid Mandala' is about 2 brothers, twins, one the cold intellectual and one mentally disabled but with an emotional understanding of the world. We follow these 2 through their lives, which they spend together, we see their inner world and see the events of their lives through their different lenses.
Almost finished listening to 'Arthur Golden's 'Memoirs Of A Geisha' Published 1997. I didn't expect too much , but I still found this rather disappointing. I was hoping the story would be better. It feels like a very 'Westernized' depiction of a Geisha's life, lacks authenticity to me. Which I guess is exactly what it is.
Geisha, A Life was what I read after finding out about Memoirs being... less than accurate.
I highly recommend though it's been years now
Thank you! I was off put right away by the fake 'Translator's Note' I got excited for a moment 'oh, this may actually be authentic than I thought' and then figured out it was in fact fake.... lame!
Yeah I get it. I think historical fiction is great but there are good and bad versions of it
I finished Howard Schubiner - Unlearn Your Pain: Break Free from Emotional Wounds, Let Go of the Past, and Reclaim Your Peace (2026, 110pg) -- interesting book that does go in circles, but I don't think we're meant to read the entire thing, so I'll give it a pass.
The title really makes it sound like some quack theory, but it boils down to the idea that chronic pain can sometimes be the brain's overprotective warning system rather than evidence of ongoing physical damage. The pain is still real, it just isn't always being driven by a current injury.
Part of the approach is to recognize when your brain is interpreting something as dangerous when it isn't and to consciously reassure yourself that you're safe. In theory this can dial back the pain response --- which sounds so crazy, but it genuinely works in some cases. So far I've talked myself out of three headaches and two bouts of jaw pain, but this current headache isn't going anywhere from it.
If I were selling it I'd say its like leveraging placebo, but that isn't totally fair to it.
Next up: George Eliot - Middlemarch (1871, 912pg) -- I just started. I like the writing, but I really hope this isn't all marriage bullshit with some hard-nosed woman compromises for some idiot man or something.
Middlemarch is one of the greatest novels ever written, enjoy!
This is what everybody says — I’m breezing through it so far, so maybe they’re right.
I'm close to the end of Middlemarch, and while it does focus a lot on marriage problems I think every character is sketched out so thoroughly and empathetically it doesn't feel like bullshit. Enjoy!
I'm barely in to book two and... I like it, but I really don't know why I like it so far. At first I was concerned it was just going to be a rip of P&P and Anna Karenina, but I was assured that that won't be the case.
It's been an interesting week.
I recently reread the first Dungeon Crawler Carl.
I started listening to the audiobook of Can't Spell Treason without Tea by Rebecca Thorne. That's been fun. The performance is well done. The story hasn't blown me away yet, but it's not really supposed to. It's a cozy fantasy book. It does feel nice, and I like the characters so far.
I just checked out Smokehouse Ham, Spoon Bread, and Scuppernong Wine from the library. Pretty excited. Southern Appalachia is home, and it's a folklore and storytelling piece in addition to the cooking bits.
I enjoyed Can't Spell Treason... But I think it's just OK as far as story goes. It's been a minute though and I did read the sequels. If you like cozy, I also recommend The Spellshop!
There's a lot of good cozy and cozy adjacent stuff out there.
I loved Terry Pratchett's Tiffany Aching books and T Kingfisher's Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking. I read both last year when I was scouting things to read for my kiddos.
Yes! Though be careful as Kingfisher does a lot of horror under that penname too.
Sarah Beth Durst is doing good cozy stuff though and I always keep an eye out for her new releases. It's keeping me alive until Becky Chambers is writing again
That is definitely true. I did like Paladin's Grace though.
I love the paladins! The whole World of the White Rat - there's something nice about a world with clerics of auditing you so you can't steal from the poor and public defenders of a god!
I like most of her work, her horror is maybe my least favorite genre-wise but she's really enjoyable.
Seems like we enjoy many of the same books!
Just finished Elantris by Brandon Sanderson. Definitely my least favorite book of his by far. However it was a necessary step in completing the Cosmere, of which I only have one book remaining!
I just started A Dead Djinn in Cairo as a palate cleanser. Too early to have an opinion on it, but I definitely didn’t expect to read about djinn genitalia in the first few pages.
I like P Dejli Clark! That one does sneak up on you though
Elantris is also my least favourite of his Cosmere universe, but I do still like it. It just stands out as being representative of his earlier work. The concept of it is great.
I agree. It's his first published book, and it definitely shows. It's not a terrible book by any means, but it doesn't have the same polished feel as his later works.
Some decent reading over the last couple of weeks on my end.
Finished:
In Ashes Born by Nathan Lowell which is book 1 In the a Seekers Tale's series, which is part of the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper series. This book is a very enjoyable read, and really fits in the slice of life cozy scifi genre. I don't read much cozy fiction, and I know this series has some darker elements that occasionally surface, but it overall has a "believe the best in people" and a bit of competence-porn thrown in.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book, but I probably won't be revisiting the series for a little while until I want another palette cleanser.
Progress made
The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien -I haven't had as much time to sit down and read my physical copy of this, but it is still very enjoyable. Men have recently shown up and seeing the first contact between the Elves (both Eldar and Avari) and Men has been interesting.
The Pursuit of God: The Human Thirst for the Divine by A.W. Tozer I've only made a bit of progress on this. While I enjoy reading theological books, I do think it would be easier to read bigger chunks with a physical book. Not that I do find these works interesting, but there is that bit of "I could just as easily read X exciting book" with just a few taps.
October Fall by Mark Loren and Boyd Craven Jr. is the first book in the October Fall series and also started a shared writing which apparently is called the October Fall universe. These are EMP apocalyptic books set in Florida following people who are preppers as well as those who are reacting to the chaos following an EMP being detonated over the US. I enjoy post apocalyptic/apocalyptic fiction and I felt the urge to give this a try. This book is so far written okay, and I'm curious about the other books in the shared universe as from what I can tell other authors just picked an area to start writing in and there is some crossover between the different series.
I read One Second After by William R. Forstchen years ago which also follows an EMP attack over the US and Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank, and those books were eye-opening after I'd casually considered and read about being prepared for unfortunate circumstances in that they made me want to be more prepared in case of any kind of natural disaster (I think just having become a Dad also made me more aware of needing to give security to my family during crisis). While my family recently had a bit of a financial blow due to some life circumstances, once we get past this I'm planning on building back up our supplies that I let dwindle so we didn't need to move everything as we already had a lot to move. I don't have the resources or interest in going full doomsday prepper, but I would like to get to a point where I have enough supplies for at least 1 month in case anything were to happen.
I recently finished The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge. The core concept of plasticity is interesting, but the writing is way too hyperbolic and pitchy.
Currently reading Range by David Epstein (lol at the last name, no known relation to the deceased sex offender to my knowledge). It argues against early specialization, making the case that generalists with broad, diverse experiences often outperform hyper-specialists in complex, unpredictable environments. It's very interesting so far!
I recently finished Something That May Shock and Discredit You by Daniel M. Lavery. To call it a transition memoir would be a massive oversimplification. It's heavy with classic, literary, and biblical musings and references. Portions are dialogues between characters from completely different times and places. Some chapters are in verse. If you're someone with a religious upbringing going through transition, this would meet your needs so well. For me, it wasn't terribly relevant, but there's a lot going on here worth examining.
I'm currently reading Slow Horses by Mick Herron. I'm a huge fan of all of John le Carré's written works, which are deeply literary and reflective works within the confines of an espionage novel. Slow Horses reminds me more of the TV series Spooks - not quite up to le Carré's gravitas, but still quite entertaining. I'm a little afraid of starting a series, so we'll see how it goes.
I read all of The Legend of William Oh and I'm now caught up which is a shame because I want more. A boy enters the Tower by sacrificing his left hand... He quickly becomes a legend... Or was he already one?
A bunch of cozy litrpgs by Max Vale - A tonic shop owner in a rural village, a familiar shop owner in the big city, a blacksmith leaving his barbarian past behind, etc. it's been fun and cozy.
Nobody's Baby by Olivia Waite, sequel to the Hugo Nominated Murder by Memory - on a spaceship where no one can get pregnant but everyone can be reborn from a backup when they die, a baby is left at a doorstep. Mystery
Witch Hat Atelier V1 and in the middle of 2. It's fun, I don't read manga often but it's been so highly recommended.
Not been reading as much, went to the ER last night but for me, not my partner, so I'm off my game.
Wait. Cozy lit RPGs? This needs more investigation.
Kind of like Beware of Chicken? That was a lot of fun, but I never finished the series. I got distracted.
Yes!
They're just vibing! Less stylized after the xianxia stuff, no one is cultivating in these, just leveling up their happy little shop or town or what have you.
Vibes are good. I like vibes. I will add it to the list. :)
Sorry about the ER visit :(
Have you been enjoying the Bee Dungeon? Battle Mage Farmer was great, thank you for recommending it. Roverpowered was really cute too, and Demon World Boba Shop is still one of my favorites. I'm glad I got to read a finished series, but I was sad when it was over.
Let me know if you want to trade recommendations, I've read some fun LitRPGs recently.
I think Battle Mage Farmer was someone else's rec!
I keep up with Bee Dungeon still, it's been very enjoyable.
I just started Metaworld Hopecore and am enjoying it, tried Derek's Dungeon Depot and am bored with how often he's drunk and making bad choices, and just snagged Maze and Common Sense, both on Kindle U.
I'll say DWBS remains a top five if not #1
Suggestions are welcome!
I read Heretical Fishing earlier. It's about a guy, who having just figured out what he wants to do in life, gets run over by a truck. He ends up in a world where anything to do with the ocean is considered heresy, which is a problem because he wants to go fishing. The world is supposed to be a RPG world, but it's out of battery, so he gets a barrage of error messages every time he does anything. In the course of living quietly on the beach and fishing, he gets superpowers, gives his friends superpowers, and gives his pets superpowers.
Spoiler notes
In the first book, the protagonist blunders around being oblivious, while people think he's some sort of devious mastermind, and there's a lot of humorous misunderstandings. It kind of annoyed me, but I liked the rest of the series so I kept reading. After a while, all the misunderstandings get cleared up, and the protagonist gets a lot better at explaining things to people.Prophecy Approved Companion is a fast-paced comedy about the companion character having to put up with a munchkin hero, and a game that's obviously still in beta. It's more adventure-y, but it has some cool philosophical stuff as the series goes on. It's completed, and I just re-read the final dungeon arc. The dialog and narration are hilarious, and the protagonist trying to figure out how her world works is great. Not to mention, the hero renamed his entire party, and the protagonist doesn't even notice that one of her friends is now named Sewer Bard. I highly recommend it.
The Transcendent Green is another great one. Also completed, but none of the author's other works are. One of the author's other series is a prequel the the main series, so book five may spoil it. It's a nice series about found family, and the entire game system is centered around being nice and helping people. The system actually locks you out of all your class powers if you hurt innocent people.
I have read Heretical Fishing, or some of it, not sure where I left off! Thanks for the reminder about it.
The other two seem worth checking out! I have clicked on a few of the shout outs from Metaworld Hopecore and if they pan out I'll add them as recs too. I'm mostly in a pattern of just binge reading a new RR, catching up on all my other RR, and then starting again lol
Reading book 5 of The Wheel of Time, not much specific to be said without spoilers, but continues to be a great serious fantasy read. It will be years before I finish the series, but I'm happy to take my time; if you like played-straight classic fantasy (prophecies, chosen ones, world-shattering-stakes, minimal comedy or one-liners) would recommend the series up until now at least.
In comic land, recently finished Curse Words by Charles Soule, 25ish issues, it was a fun read. Humorous and has a very "asshole" type of humor but doesn't resort to stereotypes or crass language. Short version is a wizard who was a bad dude comes to our world, and has decided to be a good person instead. There's a lot going on, but it's a lot of learning how to move past your bad-person past. Also, a talking koala is a main character! If you end up enjoying it I'd also recommend Eight Billion Genies by the same writer-artist team.
Eight Billions Genies was a lot of fun, so I'll try Curse Words if I can!
Finished Dennis E. Taylor's entire works. So now it's on to...
Book 1 of Spiral Wars, Renegade. Slow start in the first hundred pages but this is like a 10,000 page series so ya know. Got to do some universe building. The plot is starting to plot now though (insight +1)
Edit 13 June
About half way through the first volume now. It has that nice blend of hard and mil with a sprinkling of opera that I like. Some of the science is a bit hand wavey though, so it's not leaning into the hard side quite so much. Still, it's picked up a lot
I’m up to book 8 of the Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch, which is a combination police procedural and urban fantasy about a secret magic police organization. Sometimes it feels a bit trashy but it’s fun and, despite the recurring characters and sticking strictly to a first-person point of view, has a fair bit of variety. The author clearly likes to mix it up.
Declan Walsh's Nine Lives of Pakistan. Former was a Western journalist for multiple years in Pakistan until he was forced out from the country. The book is not a linear year by year account of the nation; rather it views it through the prisms of many characters [some major and many minor with whom the journalist personally interacted with].
It is significantly political in nature and one would need to take any rose coloured glasses off to read the book. That being said, the prose is eminently readable and I was quite engrossed by it.