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    1. Tildes Book Club - Fall schedule

      Following this month's discussion of Small Gods by Terry Pratchett, , we are set up to read This is How You Lose the Time War towards the end of September. After that we will discuss Kindred by...

      Following this month's discussion of Small Gods by Terry Pratchett, , we are set up to read This is How You Lose the Time War towards the end of September. After that we will discuss Kindred by Octavia Butler at the end of October and The City We Became by Jemisin at the end of November.

      I look forward to reading with you.

      18 votes
    2. Tildes Book Club discussion - September 2024 - This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone

      Warning: this post may contain spoilers

      This is the seventh of an ongoing series of book discussions here on Tildes. We are discussing This is How You Lose the Time War by el-Mohtar and Gladstone. Our next book will be Kindred by Octavia Butler around the end of October.

      I don't have a particular format in mind for this discussion, but I will post some prompts and questions as comments to get things started. You're not obligated to respond to them or vote on them though. So feel free to make your own top-level comment for whatever you wish to discuss, questions you have of others, or even just to post a review of the book you have written yourself.

      For latecomers, don't worry if you didn't read the book in time for this Discussion topic. You can always join in once you finish it. Tildes Activity sort, and "Collapse old comments" feature should keep the topic going for as long as people are still replying.
      And for anyone uninterested in this topic please use the Ignore Topic feature on this so it doesn't keep popping up in your Activity sort, since it's likely to keep doing that while I set this discussion up, and once people start joining in.

      20 votes
    3. 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.

      20 votes
    4. 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.

      14 votes
    5. What LitRPG Series do you recommend?

      I read through He Who Fights with Monsters and it was not only my first read into the genre, so far it's been my favorite. I've come to absolutely love the characters, especially the protagonist,...

      I read through He Who Fights with Monsters and it was not only my first read into the genre, so far it's been my favorite. I've come to absolutely love the characters, especially the protagonist, and the humor. Interesting and likeable characters are what makes or breaks a book for me.

      I'm waiting on the next book to release, and in the mean time I've tried reading some others, but I've disliked what I've read so far. I read through the first three and a half books of Defiance of the Fall, but not only is the main character just hands down boring and contradictory, it's made worse by the fact that I don't believe the author is a very good writer. The amount of times a character has "snorted" and "rolled their eyes" is honestly a bad running joke.

      After this I tried reading the Iron Druid Chronicles. It's not a LitRPG book, just a fantasy novel that takes place in modern times, but the author spent very little time on anything but the major plot points. Everything happens in such rapid succession that there's no depth given to the characters. I don't think it's poorly written, I just think it's just written for a different kind of reader. The books are also incredibly short for me, and I finished the first three in just a few days.

      I'm halfway through the first book of The Primal Hunter now, and the writing is far better than Defiance of the Fall, the protagonist much better written, except I'm not sure I like him all that much. Very much the "I'm quiet, smart, and better than everyone" kind of attitude you'd get out of the know it all in high school, except supposedly this guy is a grown adult.

      I've read all of these through Kindle Unlimited and they were all suggested to me by the app itself. I've only recently picked up reading again since dropping Reddit altogether, so I'm not super well versed into the best ways of finding new series to read.

      17 votes
    6. Tildes Book Club discussion - August 2024 - Small Gods by Terry Pratchett

      Warning: this post may contain spoilers

      This is the sixth of an ongoing series of book discussions here on Tildes. We are discussing Small Gods by Terry Pratchett. Our next book will be This is How You Lose the Time War around the end of September.

      I don't have a particular format in mind for this discussion, but I will post some prompts and questions as comments to get things started. You're not obligated to respond to them or vote on them though. So feel free to make your own top-level comment for whatever you wish to discuss, questions you have of others, or even just to post a review of the book you have written yourself.

      For latecomers, don't worry if you didn't read the book in time for this Discussion topic. You can always join in once you finish it. Tildes Activity sort, and "Collapse old comments" feature should keep the topic going for as long as people are still replying.
      And for anyone uninterested in this topic please use the Ignore Topic feature on this so it doesn't keep popping up in your Activity sort, since it's likely to keep doing that while I set this discussion up, and once people start joining in.

      32 votes
    7. 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.

      20 votes
    8. History book recommendations

      Hey all, I'm trying to get into reading historical books - I have a broad range of interests and would be open to trying anything. The only thing that bothers me is when the author is very clearly...

      Hey all, I'm trying to get into reading historical books - I have a broad range of interests and would be open to trying anything. The only thing that bothers me is when the author is very clearly pushing an agenda. For example, last year I read Band of Brothers which I really enjoyed, but I felt there was quite a bit of American propaganda mixed in which detracted from the historical aspect.

      I typically read more fantasy/scifi novels:

      Examples of some of my favorite fiction series:

      • Dune
      • Mistborn Trilogy by Sanderson
      • Cradle series by Will Wight
      • progression fantasy in general
      • LOTR
      • Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

      I'm interested in more historical novels because i've listened to a handful of excellent history podcasts and think I would enjoy getting closer to the source, but I've been struggling to pick a book because I'm afraid of choosing one that is too dry.

      Podcasts I enjoyed:

      • History of Rome by Mike Duncan
      • Revolutions by Mike Duncan
      • Hardcore History by Dan carlin

      Please give me some recommendations!

      17 votes
    9. The Library at Mount Char is a fantasy horror thriller fast paced ride of a book

      Has anyone else read this book? Without spoilers (or hiding them) what did you think? The closest I have read to this is Gaiman's American Gods but the pace is much faster and more intense. I want...

      Has anyone else read this book? Without spoilers (or hiding them) what did you think?

      The closest I have read to this is Gaiman's American Gods but the pace is much faster and more intense. I want to reread the first half to see what I missed because I didn't know what was going on.

      15 votes
    10. 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.

      13 votes
    11. Tildes Book Club - Should we add Kindred and the City We Became to our schedule before nominating new titles?

      In our last voting thread, Kindred by Octavia Butler, N K Jemison the City we Became, each earned a high number of votes. Should we add them to our schedule, or should we hold a new voting thread?...

      In our last voting thread, Kindred by Octavia Butler, N K Jemison the City we Became, each earned a high number of votes.

      Should we add them to our schedule, or should we hold a new voting thread?

      I have withdrawn the recent voting thread until I get responses to this question.

      Edited to remove Anathem for length

      11 votes
    12. Tildes Book Club discussion - July 2024 - Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

      This is the fifth of an ongoing series of book discussions here on Tildes. We are discussing Ocean at the End of the Lane. Our next book will be Small Gods by Terry Pratchett around the end of...

      This is the fifth of an ongoing series of book discussions here on Tildes. We are discussing Ocean at the End of the Lane. Our next book will be Small Gods by Terry Pratchett around the end of August.

      I don't have a particular format in mind for this discussion, but I will post some prompts and questions as comments to get things started. You're not obligated to respond to them or vote on them though. So feel free to make your own top-level comment for whatever you wish to discuss, questions you have of others, or even just to post a review of the book you have written yourself.

      For latecomers, don't worry if you didn't read the book in time for this Discussion topic. You can always join in once you finish it. Tildes Activity sort, and "Collapse old comments" feature should keep the topic going for as long as people are still replying.
      And for anyone uninterested in this topic please use the Ignore Topic feature on this so it doesn't keep popping up in your Activity sort, since it's likely to keep doing that while I set this discussion up, and once people start joining in.

      22 votes
    13. 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.

      19 votes
    14. 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.

      13 votes
    15. 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.

      20 votes
    16. If you were to recommend up to three books to read up on your niche (or any subject), what would they be?

      as in the title. Be it textbooks, bios or anything else. Somewhere I've heard that a couple of books in a given subject can give you quite a good understanding of it. It does not have to be a...

      as in the title. Be it textbooks, bios or anything else. Somewhere I've heard that a couple of books in a given subject can give you quite a good understanding of it.
      It does not have to be a niche either; I am interested in hearing about your favourite general psychology or biotechnology books just as well; I hope we can exchange recommendations about how to dive into a given field.

      For me, I'd say that to get a taste of Computer Science from the metal to high level concepts, I'd go with:

      • Introduction to Algorithms by Cormen et al. - for many it's bible of algorithms designs, I also enjoyed it very much (and I like to think that it was not only because of widespread aclaim)
      • CODE by Petzhold - for people who like to understand every part of the system they build; it goes through the process of building a computer, starting with logic gates and ending with fully working Turing machine.
      21 votes
    17. Tildes Book Club discussion - May 2024 - The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin

      This is the third of an ongoing series of book discussions here on Tildes. We are discussing the Dispossessed. Our next book will be Project Hail Mary around the end of June. I don't have a...

      This is the third of an ongoing series of book discussions here on Tildes. We are discussing the Dispossessed.
      Our next book will be Project Hail Mary around the end of June.

      I don't have a particular format in mind for this discussion, but I will post some prompts and questions as comments to get things started. You're not obligated to respond to them or vote on them though. So feel free to make your own top-level comment for whatever you wish to discuss, questions you have of others, or even just to post a review of the book you have written yourself.

      For latecomers, don't worry if you didn't read the book in time for this Discussion topic. You can always join in once you finish it. Tildes Activity sort, and "Collapse old comments" feature should keep the topic going for as long as people are still replying.
      And for anyone uninterested in this topic please use the Ignore Topic feature on this so it doesn't keep popping up in your Activity sort, since it's likely to keep doing that while I set this discussion up, and once people start joining in.

      25 votes
    18. 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.

      11 votes
    19. Tildes Book Club - 2024 summer schedule

      Following this month's discussion of the Dispossessed, we are set up for Project Hail Mary towards the end of June. After that we will discuss Ocean at the End of the Lane at the end of July,...

      Following this month's discussion of the Dispossessed, we are set up for Project Hail Mary towards the end of June. After that we will discuss Ocean at the End of the Lane at the end of July, Small Gods at the end of August and This is How You Lose the Time War at the end of September.

      I look forward to reading with you.

      23 votes
    20. Science fiction or fantasy recommendations for children

      My apologies if there is already a thread about this. I did try searching and didn't turn anything up. My daughter (9) is just about to finish the Harry Potter series. She saw Kim Stanley...

      My apologies if there is already a thread about this. I did try searching and didn't turn anything up.

      My daughter (9) is just about to finish the Harry Potter series. She saw Kim Stanley Robinson's Red Mars on the bookshelf and asked to read it next. It's been years since I read it, but I remember it being pretty complex and political. Much as I would enjoy discussing it with her, I think it might be a little bit ambitious for her first SF.

      She read a Wrinkle in Time in school and has already listened to the Narnia books on audiobook.

      I was thinking back to my own childhood reading, which was very eclectic because I was limited by what I could get at home or in my small town libraries. I remember Clarke, Asimov, Pohl, L'Engle, but also a healthy dose of Star Trek and Star Wars novels, and even the Death lands novels. It was mostly hard SF. I didn't really read much fantasy until grad school.

      I feel like the landscape is pretty different now, with a lot more YA content in general and especially in the Fantasy/SF world. There are things with better representations and diversity as well. I spent an hour in the children's fiction section of our library, but I feel like it's difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff.

      So Tilderinos, that are your recommendations or thoughts? I'm also interested in meta resources like book lists or reviewers that have been helpful to you. Much as I would like to read everything she reads, she has much more bandwidth than I do.

      As I was writing this, my daughter came by and suggested I list some of her interests, which are: magic, dragons, wizards and witches, and being tired of having all happy endings. So while I'm not necessarily tied to SF and Fantasy only, that does seem like it will be the thin end of the wedge.

      Edit:
      I have compiled the recommendations from this thread into a spreadsheet listing each book or series with a short synopsis and other notes. I've also included the names of the books for most series. My apologies if I missed any.

      44 votes