What book(s) are you currently reading or listening to? August 26

Still Reading Infinite Jest. Nearing the end finally

Worth the slog?
- To me, nope. There s a great book somewhere inside it for sure. But note sure it s worth the Hassle. Bear in mind, that i chose to read it in english while i m French. So it may be why i m having a hard time reading it. A lot of people love this book tho. That s why i gave it a shot.

The Eye of the World, Wheel of Time series book 1

To me it is the best fantasy saga i ve read. Nice characters, nice actions, nice thoughts. Have fun !
- https://media1.tenor.com/m/QCvxoFHsUbkAAAAC/oh-thats.gif
The first couple of those are great.
Well, you're in for the long haul
it's a pretty good series, if a bit lengthy at times

"The Blade Itself" by Joe Abercrombie. It may have been a little overhyped, but I'm enjoying it so far.

I read the series years ago, and recently learned that it's not just a trilogy! I just re-read the first three, read the second three for the first time, and am planning to start the next three (starting with A Little Hatred) in the next month.
I find the world-building in the first trilogy quite good, and I like having a bit of a darker story.
I just started it today!

I'm nearing the end of The Hunt For Red October. I remembered I liked reading Clancy's Politika when I was a teenager and the recent show of Jack Ryan made me curious about the books.

I found out that there are some major movie titles based on Jack Ryan books, like October but also The Sum of All Fears, Clear and Present Danger and Rainbow Six, which is of course a video game series.

It's pretty fun to read the books and imagine Jack Ryan played by John Krasinski.

English is not my native language but if at all possible I try to read these kinds of books in the original language. Clancy is a good writer, although sometimes punctuation could provide a bit more readability.

In any event, it's a book that finds it drive very late, but somehow keeps you engaged through some really boring chapters because you continuously feel something big is going to happen soon. When it does find its drive, it's a bit anticlimactic. Over the entity of the book (or at least where I'm currently at) especially dialog and character description made it a very lively book. Clancy is also pretty detailed when it comes to army, navy and air force stuffs. It just feels well-researched, even though it's fully possible it's all incorrect.

Clancy books realy go deep into the tech of war, so he spends a lot of time describing weapon systems and military processes.
I have read a number of his books and the two I highly recommend are The Hunt for Red October and Red Storm Rising,

I’m working my way through the Great Hunt still. Had to hit the brakes for some IRL stuff taking up most of my headspace, but will hopefully continue on here soon.

Is it part of the wheel of Time?
- Great Hunt is the 2nd book in the Wheel of Time.
- Yup, Book 2.
  It’s a shame because I like the plot significantly more than the first so far.

Hyperion by Dan Simmons. A very imaginative book. Which could be considered a backhanded compliment. I dont think he always gets it right but on the balance it's an engaging read. Best of all its a trilogy so more books to go. Hopefully the quality keeps up.

How are you finding the rivers of London series?

I've just finished 'The Goldens' by Lauren Wilson. I'm not sure how I feel about it. I enjoyed it, but can't work out if I think it was mostly trashy fun or something more than that.

They are pretty fun, kind of police procedural, but with magic.
Not OP, but I've read the first 4 books in the Rivers of London series. I've enjoyed them a decent bit. They're fun and lighthearted.
As somebody who has read a few of them, I also enjoy it. It’s a good take on urban fantasy and the main protagonist is a lot of fun.

The mountain in the sea, Ray Nayler

The butcher's masquerade, DC #5, Matt Dinniman

Wreck jumpers, Anspach and Cole

Are they good?
- Mount in the sea is good, it's about contacting other intelligent life and what it means to be human
  Dungeon crawler Carl books are always very entertaining. #5 is pretty funny, had me laughing out loud in bed last night.
  Wreck jumpers is standard anspach/Cole military sci-fi with murderous aliens. Similar to galaxies edge stuff by the same writers

I'm reading The Company Man by Robert Jackson Bennett, one of his earlier novels. It's an alt history mystery noir set in the 1920s. It's super atmospheric and kinda reminds me of the show Severance. I'm less than a third of the way through but am hooked and absolutely loving it so far.

Robert Jackson Bennett comes up a lot, should really read something by him.
- He just won a Higo award for The Tainted Cup, so that might be a good place to start!

Traumnovelle. I randomly got reminded of the film "Eyes Wide Shut" and discovered it's actually based on an Austrian story from the 1920s. I've been wanting to read more in German, so I figured why not?

It's decently entertaining, and a nice little look into cultural assumptions in the 1920s, but I have to admit I'm excited to finish it and move on :).

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse. Fantasy with a Native American mythos. It started great, then became a soap opera.

I read her first one and loved it. Haven't read any more by her.

Dungeon Crawler Karl and The wandering inn.

Ill probably be done never.

Worth it?
- For me yes!
  I use both when I feel like walking. And DCC (https://soundbooththeater.com/) has replaced a lot of TV shows for my and my wife.

Currently reading Lady of the Lake by Andrzej Sapkowski the last main book in the Witcher series

Listening to The Fury of the Gods by John Gwynne the last book in the Bloodsworn Saga. Would highly recommend the series it is so good and compelling.

I'm 3/4 of the way through A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher, and then I'll technically have a whole bingo card filled, though I have plans to maybe read a couple more books to check off more hard modes.

__

Finished Thirteenth by C.M. Rosens (eldritchy horror family drama) | bingo: number HM, different continent, jerk HM

The eldritch horror family from the first book anticipates the coming of age of a teenage relative, whose status as a thirteenth child means she's destined to gorily prune the family tree.

I didn't tear through this one nearly as quickly as I did the first book (although it was better edited). One of the new PoVs was kind of unlikable (perhaps intentionally? I feel like I ought to have cared, but didn't), and the MC from the first book was heavily sidelined, which was disappointing. It was still enjoyable, and I do still plan to read the next book eventually, I'm just less excited about it now.

Started work after my vacation, so resumed listening to "Eye of the Bedlam bride" by Matt Dinniman. Almost 3/4th through, and it is great so far.

Also resumed reading last week. I was still reading "Rama II" by Arthur C Clarke and Lee Gentry, but I've just decided it goes into the pile of never finished books by me. I'm about half way through, and the characters get worse every page it seems. Also the pacing is way too slow.

Next book is "The worst ship in the fleet" by Skyler Ramirez. Judging by the reviews it gets on goodreads, it will be a hit or miss, so we'll see I guess!

Currently reading The Glass Hotel by Emily St John Mandel. I'd previously read her book Station Eleven and adored it. This one is also very good, although possibly lacking the sheer punch of Station Eleven. Very good author, anyway; highly recommend.

I'm reading some anniversary collection of Beetle Bailey comics by Mort Walker I picked up at the library. I used to read these as a kid, and have been feeling like revisiting them lately.

I used to love those.

I just finished all 18 books in The Lost Fleet series by Jack Campbell, and I am now empty inside. I haven’t found anything else yet that has grabbed me.

I just finished Roadside Picnic for the first time and dove into Robert Anton Wilson's "Sex and Drugs".

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex,_Drugs_and_Magick

He talks about the difficulty in getting the book published in the early 70s:

"Playboy Press seems not to have published this book in the ordinary sense but to have released it on a need-to-know basis, or something of that sort. There were marvelous advance-of-publication blurbs from heavyweight figures like Alan Watts, William S. Burroughs and Timothy Leary; there were enthusiastic reviews in a dozen counter-culture newspapers and magazines; and then there was a stifled and prolonged silence, as if I had killed a cat in the sacristy. Every place I went to lecture or give seminars, people had heard of Sex and Drugs by word of mouth but complained that they were unable to find it in any bookstores. Very quickly, it went out of print. I have never earned a penny in royalties on it, which event I fully expect to reverse from the Falcon Press edition.

Even more curiously, as years passed and other books by me sold well and were reprinted regularly, no publisher was, for 13 years, willing to reprint Sex and Drugs. This has often puzzled me."

How did you like Roadside Picnic?
- It was interesting. There were some narrative jumps that I couldn't tell if there was a problem in translation or a problem with editing.
  Apparently the OG book was heavily censored in Russia and this edition claims to have restored the original, but like I say, there are gaps.
  The ending feels a little... unresolved.

Blackvine Manor Mystery. It isn't that good. The story is fine, but the ghost scenes are written like the author is describing movie special effects, and the development of the relationships between the main characters all happens off-page.

The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie. (Ebook) I keep trying to find books in the Fantasy genre that I enjoy reading. hopefully this will be the one that gets me there.

Polostan by Neal Stephenson. Bought this one blind because I like every one of the author's books that I've read. They're usually filled with math and or philosophy and he does a great job of explaining things in the context of the book, so I'm excited to get into this one and feel dumb for a while until I pick up whatever he's putting down.

I just finished (today) both Dark Matter by Blake Crouch and The Man Who Died Seven Times by Yasuhiko Nishizawa.

I am still listening to this. It is getting more and more insane.

I did six years in the Army and the number of loosers and low lifes I dealt in the Army just blew my mind. I always thought that SF was a different breed, but no.

It is wild how the military’s “elite force” are just more of the same.

From the book, There was this one Delta guy who ran a biker club called Coast to Coast. The Delta guy went by Chris Valley.

His club did a fund raiser for five dead green berets. They raised 450,000, 250,000 he just kept and the rest went to help other SF guys “treatments”, gyro therapy, cryotherapy.

It was all just a scheme to take people’s money. How the hell and active duty delta gu yay did something that public is beyond incredible.

It really is a wild listen/read.

The chapters I am on now focus on an ex NC cop who was an expert at catching drug mules has became one of them after he was kicked off the Police Force.

Hope I don't know anyone in that book.
- Well if you were Delta Force in the second decade of the GWOT, you certainly do.

A few more Deathlands for me, up to 111 now.

I started the third Thursday Next book and got about 3 hours or so into it but I just couldnt really carry on. I enjoy the world and the concepts behind what is happening but the story itself behind that is just fucking dull. I might go back and try to get a bit further but as of right now I don't have the motivation as I just don't care about what might happen.

Instead I started A Sunlit Man as I said I would. I have just got past the point where Wit has showed up again and I am super excited to "see" him again as I always enjoyed him in the other cosmere novels so I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes. It is also nice to hear places like Roshar mentioned again as it has been a while since I heard those names :D

Did you finish it, Dresden? How did you find what you read?

111! A nice number!
I guess that is why I have heard mixed things about Thursday Next books, would love to hear more if you continue, otherwise I'll just skip the series.
Well, I liked the book,

Looking forward to what you think about it.

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

I guess it's classified as YA but it's been a fun read so far. I like the protagonist's snarky nature.

I stumbled on this one because we got a heap of books in for our homeschool program and I idly picked this one up. before I knew it I was a few chapters in. Great easy reader.

Such a fun read. The rest of the books In the series are great but the first one is just so much fun. It’s one of the books I wish I could read again for the first time.
- Let me do read it for the first time, on your behalf.

Just read the The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Biggest pile of funny nonsense I’ve read in a while. Don’t understand the hype though, seemed like most of the humor comes from the random anecdotes instead of proper storytelling.

I’m currently reading The Two Lies of Faven Sythe by Megan O’Keefe. I’m digging it so far, I have a trilogy of hers that I’ve wanted to read, I’m just not feeling reading a series at the moment. This was me testing her writing and I will definitely dig into The Protectorate books.

I’m still listening to Cibola Burn by James S.A. Corey. It’s taking me a while to get through it because I paused to listen to a few Murderbot books. But also because I forgot why I disliked one of the characters in this one so much.

I just finished Barbarian Aliens by Ruby Dixon. It’s the second book but I’ve decided to not finish the series. I really enjoy the world, the people, and the romance, but I’m kind of tired of everyone just trying to get knocked up. It’s just not my thing.

I just finished rereading LOTR for the first time in about 15 years, still great! But, as always, I would like to recommend The Long Ships.

Still working my way through Contemporary Theological Approaches to Sexuality, ed. Lisa Isherwood and Dirk von Der Horst. I read a chapter yesterday about sex work, and there was a ton of discussion about Marxist economics. Today's chapter was about rape culture and virgin martyr sainthood in the Catholic church.

Recently started reading The Lives of Others by Neel Mukherjee. Trying to read authors from all around the world and this is my India book. Wild family saga that gets into history, traditional vs modern culture and religion, class politics. Really enjoying it so far.

Also listening to the audiobook of The Scar by China Miéville.

Unconscious Memory - Terrell Bainbridge.

"divided states of america" its a Polish book, I don't think it's available in English. it's about how the American society has became insanely divided and polarised over the last 3 decades

I’m reading Super Powereds: Year One by Drew Hayes. I generally really enjoy his stuff, and I’m just starting out with this one so I don’t have much yet. It started as a web novel. My general feeling so far is that unfortunately, that really kind of comes through in the text. Probably should’ve had a good edit before being published as a book. It’s not a bad read by any sense. It’s just easy to see the seams.