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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.
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I finished reading Death's End by Cixin Liu, the last book in the Three Body Problem trilogy. It was a really fun book to read, and the end was a bit of a trip. It touches on some pretty interesting themes as well. In one section of the book, the characters need to form a plan against an enemy that can hear and see everything they say and do. I think this examination of surveillance was pretty interesting, coming from a Chinese author who still lives in mainland China. In an interview he did with the The New Yorker, he expressed full support for the policies of the Chinese Government, but I wonder if that's how he really feels.
One day, I'll have to give the series another chance. I really liked the first book, and mostly enjoyed the second one. But I had a hard time following the story of the second book and got super confused so I never started Death's End
I also listened to the book instead of reading it. I love Luke Daniels, but had trouble following whoever narrated the second one. My ability to follow an audiobook heavily depends on the narrator , so I might have to read it
Underworld by Don DeLillo
About a third of the way through. A melancholic exploration of America post-"America" through the eyes of tangentially-related characters which orbits about it's focus: a game-winning baseball.
I loved that book -- particularly the prologue, which was published independently as Pafko at the Wall.
Because of COVID my current reading rotation is kind of big;
Utopia by Thomas More
This is a reread for me, I read it back in school and honestly just powered through it at the time. I have found that books that I have read as required reading in school did not get fully appreciated by younger me. Something about being "forced" to read a book and reading it on my own seems to change how I approach it.
Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance
I am fascinated by Elon. I cautiously hopeful that his actions will be the catalyst that moves both our nation and humanity forward into a better future. This can already be seen in how Tesla has affected the automotive industry, even Ford is completely restructuring their company and I bet a lot of that is a direct result of Tesla's impact.
The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen by Jacques Pépin
Jacques is by far my favorite classically trained chef, this memoir came out in the early 2000s and is a great look at how he got his start and the 70 years he has spent in the industry.
Exodus: A Novel of Israel by Leon Uris
I am a sucker for historical fiction. Exodus does a really great job of telling a story while remaining accurate to the historical events of the period. I had seen the Paul Newman movie when I was younger but it really does not do the book justice, I am only about one third of the way into it but so far it's a fabulous read.
Neuromancer by William Gibson
So I am a massive science fiction fan, but for some reason missed this book. I picked it up recently after being recommended it by a friend and am just now getting started.
Star Wars: Ahsoka by E. K. Johnston
Recently started watching through the Clone Wars series after caving and buying Disney plus out of pandemic boredom. I had in the past written the show off as just another childrens cartoon but wow was I wrong. I would go as far as to say the writing and plot development on the show is better than most of the movies. Throughout my viewing I have fallen in love with the character of Ashoka Tano and had to have this book when I found out it existed. I am very excited for her to make an appearance in the Mandalorian.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
I was looking for a darker dystopian book to read and via recommendations I came to The Road. I am currently only a chapter into it but so far the writing is exquisite.
EDIT: Oh I almost forgot to add, I am rereading the LOTR one book edition for like the millionth time. I read it once a year, sometimes twice. Tolkien meant for it to be read as a single book and it reads so much better as a single volume. I will fight anyone that disagrees =)
I like Gibson so much, it's part of my moniker - Just remember when reading this book that it was written back 1984, way before all the tech we have now. This dude is awesome.
I always thought LotR was meant as six books rather than three?
Nope, Tolkien wrote entire story as a single, giant tome and wanted it printed as one book divided it into a prologue, six volumes, and five appendices. The volumes would be printed in separate books, but released at one time together as a set. They were separated out to ease reading, not because he regarded them as separate novelizations.
But because of post-World War II paper shortages, it was originally published in three books released at different times. This was not at all his choice.
It was done solely for ease of publishing and not at all how it's meant to be read.
Thats where people get the 6 books thing from, but he wrote it and always meant for it to be a single novel. This is why the "one book edition" exists today and there is actually a note in the front explaining all of this.
Oh cool! Thanks for the break-down. I’ve been dipping in and out of the book for the last year on both audiobook and ebook.
I bloody love it.
Edit:
I do remember that part at least :-)
"Cuentos Completos" (Collected Fictions) by Jorge Luis Borges.
Man, Borges is at another level on the latin-american literature. Every one of his stories is so different from the previous one, and they're so dense you can expand them to the size of a novel.
Years ago I read El Aleph and Ficciones which are both included on this collection, I recommend Ficciones to anyone who wants to read his more popular works.
Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker Phd
As the name implies (surprise) its about sleep. If you happen to sleep less than 7-8 hours give it a shot in your free time. Basically it tells why we need to sleep at least 7-8 hours, how does sleeping less effects us etc. I m currently half way throught it i am enjoying my read. I am more determined to get my daily 7-8 hours sleep now.
i havent finished reading it yet but, it says its best if one can sleep straight 7-8 hours (at least) at night then a siesta(midday sleep) which is around 25-90 mins. This is the optimal cycle. It does mention pre-modern society as well, this siesta thing existed way back then it seems. It does also criticize the early starting hours of schools that forces students get up early.
Children of Time was a great book! I was quite fond of the ant proxy wars the spiders waged. I had no idea there were more books, so I'll have to check those out.
Fuck. I just read a bit of a spoiler for a series that I am reading! @Deimos, can we do something about this?
Perhaps make all posts in these threads have a spoiler tag, with only the name of the book unspoiled?
I added a spoiler tag to the topic, but yeah, there should probably be a mention in the text of the topic itself about avoiding spoilers if possible, or at least using the <details> element if you do. E.g.
Click to expand spoiler.
Vader is Dumbledore's uncleThe Terror.... still... it's been like four months of reading this... I hate it, but I'm like 65% of the way through. I think I'd said it before but I'll say it again: I don't think I care for historical fiction. Especially ones where it feels like I have to have a map out at all times to know the places they're referring to-- normally I just gloss over those parts in any other book and tough it out, but so much of the book is about locations and people who's appearances I've just started lazily stereotyping into various crew members I'd see on Pirates of the Caribbean.
That book is intimidating. I've been meaning to read it ever since I read and liked Simmons's Carrion Comfort (which is similarly long), but your on-the-ground review here is making me think I should take it off my reading list.
Well I guiltily admit I've never loved reading/barely do it voluntarily unless it's an easy read like Bird Box, Shrill, or books where I've seen the movies first and all the imaginative works' been done for me. But this is just reminding me of all the books I hated reading in middle & high school. The only time I read is daily for ~30-40 minutes before bed, and this book works in that it puts me right to sleep.
It has its moments. My wife and I wanted to read it before we dove into the AMC adaptation, but... I just don't care about half the shit they're talking about. Aside from the maps and locations, you should also be familiar with nautical terms (boat locations, nautical hierarchy, parts of the boat, etc.); I have it on my kindle and keep checking for definitions of words I'm completely unfamiliar with. And there was an entire chapter all about people at a table having a discussion, and the first half of it was all about who was sitting next to who was sitting next to who was sitting next to who, and I just don't think it's worth it to get to the juicy bits.
I FINALLY finished Educated and am currently reading The Golem and the Jinn by Helen Wecker. I have seen this book on the shelf of stores for a very, very long time. Last year (January 2019) I got a gift card to Barnes n noble and went on a spree and figured fuck it! Why not pick it up! No regrets. Idk if the younger me would like it but so far I'm enjoying it very much.
For those who haven't heard of it, it's a book about a newly created lady Golem and a lost in time jinn who both end up in 1889 New York. I'm only a few chapters in so far but it's really enjoyable! I'm looking forward to reading more about the characters and how they got where they're at!
The Girl and the Stars(Book of the Ice #1) by Mark Lawrence. Meh. This the 7th book of Mark Lawrence's that i have read and i've had the same feeling through them all. Interesting world and a lot of potential but the actual story, characters and writing are just so uninspiring that i find myself bored and skimming. With Prince of Thrones and Book of the Ancestor trilogies i realised this in book two. With The Girl and the Stars i realised it about 40% of the way through that i just didnt care about any of the characters or why they were doing stuff. Probably would have DNFed if it was a longer book but at 400 pages i just skimmed through. Probably going to pass on Mark Lawrences stuff from now on.
This week I read two books, The Gunslinger (first part of The Dark Tower) by Stephen King and Small Gods by Terry Pratchett. I also finished my half read copy of Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb.
Recently I've had a bit of a surge in reading habits especially into fiction and wanted to try something new. I've always wanted to dip my toes in some of King's work so I snatched this from the second-hand bookstore nearby. I read it in two evenings and it was quite weird. I also found it a bit hard to read, so overall not a fan. I hear it get's better but I'm also thinking westerners just don't appeal to me.
Pratchett was also a new author for me. It was pretty hilarious at times, but overall I found myself reading through it quite quickly without thought. A lot of the comedy is about idiotic characters and I just find it hard to relate to. Furthermore, I guess currently I'm in the mood for immersing myself in a huge overarching plott, so I'm continuing The Farseer Trilogy by reading the second book Royal Assassin. I'll definitely try some other books by Pratchett in between series. I already have Going Postal on my shelf, and my girlfriend recommended Mort.
On the Japanese front I'm almost done with キノの旅 (Kino no Tabi) and soon starting キッチン (Kitchen) by Banana Yoshimoto. Kino was quite an easy read but reading is still a bit of a chore.
Concurrently reading 3 books at the moment:
Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee
One of the more 'different' Sci-fi novels that I have read. Has an odd melding of sci-fi, pseudo-magic systems based on math, a futuristic civil-military uprising. The math system is so loosely described that it may as well be magic; math is used to change to local effects of physics...quite odd but interesting.
The New IPA by Scott Janish
I'm a professional brewer by trade and trying to keep current with changes. Scott Janish has a really enlightening book if you're into brewing and the modern hazy IPAs
The 48 Laws to Power by Robert Greene
Heard some controversies with the book and that made me curious to read it.
I finished listening to Scalzi's new book The Last Emperox, narrated by Wil Wheaton. It was, as expected, quite excellent and a nice end to the trilogy. I started listening to Cline's Ready Player One again, also narrated by Wheaton. and have Repo Virtual by Corey J White queued up next.
Other than that, I'm also reading something, namely the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galay. I read it about 10 years ago, but I'm not sure if I finished the series and I fear I never got around to the last book. And I know for sure that I never read Eoin Colfer's take on the sixth book (which I have heard very mixed things about, but I'm curious). After that I'll likely borrow my housemate's copies of the Sandman graphic novels.
Just finished Artemis by Andy Weir and enjoyed it quite a bit. Still looking for my next adventure. Any suggestions?
The Separation by Christopher Priest
Thanks! Sounds amazing! Just added it to my Kindle.
Currently in the middle of reading Stephen Fry's Heroes.
I read Station Eleven after reading a recent interview with the author, Emily St. John Mandel. It's a pandemic apocalypse novel, realistic but more about the humanities and a bit weak on science. (Or at least, I thought there should have been more. It seems to be happening offstage.) There is a traveling orchestra/Shakespeare troupe. Despite many terrible things that happen, it's fairly hopeful. In the interview it was described it as "a valentine to the modern world." Recommended if you don't mind reading about a pandemic during a pandemic.
Before that I read Agency by William Gibson. It's pretty typical Gibson, but I liked it. I guess you could say it's about a nice AI who makes friends with odd people.
I'm currently reading The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi.