What book(s) are you currently reading or listening? 21 January

I'm reading Erdogan Pizza by John Dolan. It's a collection of real travelogues from an utterly unadventurous, shy nerd who keeps managing to get kicked out of third world countries while being dead broke. I couldn't imagine a greater mismatch between the personality of someone and how they've chosen to live their life. Very amusing.

I have a TV program for you
- Yeah, I've seen An Idiot Abroad and quiet enjoyed it. Different vibes though, Karl is incurious and is being pushed into it (which is entertaining in it's own right). John is absolutely doing it of his own volition, though I don't fully understand why, and is deeply curious. There's also a palpable sense of desperation and danger that comes from being someone's life, instead of a well funded work holiday.
- They also made a nonfiction book out of this, but I liked the show better.

Rachel Maddow, "Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism"

Wheel of Time. On the fourth book now. Pacing is a little slow but it is interesting enough to keep me reading. Though I really have almost no clue how this story keeps going for several more books. Guess I'll see :)

The pacing change from the first three books is noticeable but I felt it was welcome. The first three are almost contained quest novels, where they chase a goal and more or less complete it by books end, the scope changes a bit in book four onwards to a larger view of how you pull this disbanded world together to face the final fight. It really doesn't return to the early books pacing, but once you adjust, I felt at least that the novels now intriguing for the change.
Well, the pacing becomes even slower, and there are books where nothing happens. Still, it's my favourite series. So, keep reading, and maybe pace yourself so you don't get burned out.

Been reading through Mistborn Trilogy 2, current on the back half of the Bands of Mourning.

This trilogy has not been as captivating to me as much as Stormlight or Mistborn 1.

I have Elantris queued up to read more of his works next, but I might take a bit of a Sanderson break here soon since I know Horneater and Stormlight 5 are due later this year. I’ve heard good things anbout Earthsea Anyone have some recommendations about where to start those books?

I read through Earthsea last year and I just went in the order they were published in. I would caution that books 1 and 2 feel very different so if you aren't big on the first one, give the second one a shot before you call it quits.
- Ah sounds good. Thanks for the warning!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lost_Cause_(novel)

Quite OK so far.

How is he as a fiction writer? I have come across posts by Doctrow over the years, but have never read any of his fiction.

Just started on a re-read (audiobook) of Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, by Douglas Adams, also read by him. Oh I love him as a narrator! Also continuing with Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol.

Ah, were these also on radio or just read as audio books?
- I think these were available on the radio. To be honest I got them over the high seas since I didn't like the audible narrator (don't remember his name).

I am reading a bit too much different things at once right now, so this is a fairly long comment:

I've been reading "For Whom The Bell Tolls" by Ernest Hemingway for a while, and I have read 5/6 now. It's about partisans in the Spanish civil war. I am enjoying Hemingway's prose and the story, but I think I will wait a bit after this before reading any of his other works.

I've been meaning to read the great Chinese classic novels for a while, but I never got to it. Last week, after seeing someone on here was reading it, I decided to start reading "Romance of the Three Kingdoms". The story (about the fall of the Han dynasty and the war of, you guessed it, three kingdoms) is very fun so far, but there are like 50 names in the first 50 pages, so I have trouble remembering who is who. I'm hoping for a bit more dialogue too.

I'm also halfway through the "Aeneid", the great Latin epic by Virgil. It's a decent story, but I should have gone for a modern translation instead of the old one I have now. I think I'm going to stop with this one for a while, as this is the perfect point to stop.

Lastly, I'm reading Leo Tolstoy's "The Kingdom of God Is Within You", his most well-known non-fiction work. I am a massive Tolstoy fan (War and Peace is my all time favourite novel), so I wanted to know more about his philosophy. It is very interesting so far, with how he makes arguments for non-violence, as well as his arguments against the principle of the Church. I don't always fully agree, but it is a very thought-provoking book.

Last week I also read Tolstoy's short story "Master and Man". I think it may be the best work to read as an introduction to Tolstoy. The setting is perfect for this time of the year, the prose is amazing as always, the psychological depth is unbelievable for so short a novel, and the moral part is typical for his later works, but not too prominent that it bothered me in any way. So if you're interested in reading some Tolstoy, you should definitely read this one!

Harpo Speaks! by Harpo Marx.

How is it? Are you enjoying it?

Just finished Wheel of Time book 2 (The Great Hunt) and about to start book 3 (The Dragon Reborn). I absolutely devoured book 2 so I'm super eager to continue.

Almost done with N.K. Jemisin's The World We Make.

Also reading the fourth John Dies at the End book.

And listening to Why We Sleep.

What do you think about Jemisin? I've read the first two books of her Broken Earth trilogy, and I quit half through the third book. For me, the first one was great, second was meh and third one so bad I wasn't even interested in how it ends. I think she did a very good job in the beginning with setting up the world and its mysteries, but revealed too much too fast, so when we came to the third book there was almost nothing of interest left.
- I definitely liked the first Broken Earth book the best as well.
  
  I'm not sure how I feel about the city trilogy either. The characters and their voices are great, but a lot of the more abstract scenes/actions didn't really do anything for me.
  
  I think she writes well enough that it keeps me reading (and wins her awards), but I haven't loved most of her books.

Been reading some adult books lately by Lillian Lark. Currently on Entranced by the Basilisks.

Finally got my Gideon the Ninth hold to pop up at the library at the right time. 2 hours in and digging it

Listening to Debt of Honour by Tom Clancy

I finished Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner last night and so I’m on to Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher then King of Attolia by Turner over this week.

I am slogging through the last bit of "Judas Unchained". I love the world that's been crafted, but at times it's way too detailed.

I'm reading Stephen King - Insomnia on my breaks at work and listening to David Jason's Autobiography in the car.

'Lincoln in the Bardo' (2017) George Saunders. A bit late to this title but got restarted with Saunders after finding 'A Swim in a Pond in the Rain'. Now I have to read/re-read all the Russian short stories but before that, I found a signed, hard-cover, first edition of 'Lincoln in the Bardo' at my local used bookstore! It's a trip but I'm along for the ride.

I didn't expect to see "A Swim in a Pond in the Rain" here. I'm currently reading it and I'm really enjoy all those Russian short stories, but also the commentary on those stories is also pretty great. As someone who doesn't have a literary background it's nice to see how it's done.

I'm listening to Hidden by Benedict Jacka, the fifth book in the Alex Verus series. I really enjoy both the story and the narrator for the audiobooks!

I been slacking off lately:

The Dark Half - Stephen King, 3/4 done.
Rogue - George RR Martin ed, 1/4 done.
The Beekeeper's Apprentice - Laurie R. King, just started.
Some of the Best from Tor: 15th anniversary - various, 1/5(?) done

Well, you read a lot even when slacking off...

Rogues sounds pretty cool, some really big names in it. How are you liking it?
- Rogue is really nice so far, I am currently on story 9 and each of the previous ones are a hit. Particularly “What Do You Do?” by Gillian Flynn, “The Inn of the Seven Blessings” by Matt Hughes, and “A Year and a Day in Old Theradane” by Scott Lynch. Recommend.
  
  I should have finished Stephen King's "The Dark Half" last month. Haven't been reading as much.

How to be an antiracist, The Palestine Laboratory, The Hundred Years' War on Palestine (a translated version instead of the original text and I question my decision every day) and The Dos and Donuts of Love.

And yes I'm a huge mood reader

Interesting reads. "Donuts of Love" sound tasty. 😀

The Garden of the Finzi-Continis by Giorgio Bassani. Although initially I couldn't grasp much of what was happening in the prologue, as I progress it grows on me more and more.